Official Report by Superior Confidential Councilor von Falke After
Inspection of Louvain, Sept. 17.
The ancient Tuchhalle, which was used for university and library
purposes, was completely destroyed by fire, with the exception of the
front and rear facades in Gothic and Renaissance style. The library,
with its very valuable treasures of manuscripts and books, was therefore
a total loss. Officials of the library who might have called attention
to the saving of the imperiled treasures were not present when the
adjoining houses on both sides of the hall caught fire, and no hope
exists that any of the books or manuscripts, or even parts thereof,
might be found in the ruins.
Apart from this--by far the worst damage--and the partial destruction
by fire of the Cathedral of St. Peter no other losses of extraordinary
importance took place at Louvain.
The Rathaus, or City Hall, in late Gothic style, under reconstruction
for several years and on which work has not been finished yet, was
saved, thanks to the orders of the commander, Major von Manteuffel, who
ordered that the burning houses on the right side of the City Hall be
leveled to the ground. The military removed from a cellar of the City
Hall a quantity of ammunition which threatened to explode through
extreme heat of the fire. Four soldiers were severely injured thereby.
The Rathaus, thanks to the precautions taken by the German military, and
in spite of its nearness to the conflagration, was not damaged in the
interior, nor did its rich outer architecture suffer any at all.
The roof of the Cathedral of St. Peter, which was set afire by sparks
from adjoining buildings, was very considerably damaged, however only to
such an extent as to allow its restoration to the original condition.
The roof frame is burned to the beginning of the curve of the dome. The
inner ceiling has prevented the fire from spreading to the inner part of
the church, containing rich art treasures. Above the choir, however, the
inner ceiling gave way, thereby partially damaging the upper part of the
rococo altar of stone which was without any particular artistic value.
The small sacrament house standing next to the altar--a very fine and
rich stonework of late Gothic style by the builder of the City Hall, M.
de Layens--has been slightly damaged by the collapse of the ceiling,
which chipped off the upper phiales. These broken pieces have been
collected without any substantial loss and can easily be replaced. The
damage to the sacrament house can therefore be replaced. Close to the
main portal of the cathedral, following the fire in the bell tower, the
falling bells pierced the roof. Near the entrance in the southerly part
of the church at the right side the fire did some damage to the walls
and the stone balustrades in the side chapel. Notable art treasures
have, however, not been damaged. Only the ventilator in the main portal,
a beautiful Renaissance carving, (of wood,) was burned. An ancient glass
painting of the seventeenth century remained undamaged.
The left side chapel to the north of the entrance, with its Gothic
bronze baptismal and the iron arm in Gothic style, (the cover being
missing for many years,) with its rococo carved altars and heavy
sideboards, are untouched, as well as the organ of the year 1556 in a
beautiful carved oak inclosure of the Renaissance period in the
northerly centre chapel.
The paintings in the choir chapels, to which belong the most precious
art treasures of Louvain, such as the works of Dierik Bouts and the
Master of Flemalle, together with all movable art treasures of St.
Peter's Church, were saved by Lieut. Col. of Reserves Thelemann and
transferred to a hall in the Rathaus, where they are now under the
supervision of the Mayor. Here can be found "The Holy Communion" by
Dierik Bouts, and his "Martyrdom of the Holy Erasmus," the
"Kreuzabnahme" ("Removal from the Cross") by the Master of Flemalle, and
two side paintings representing the donors (apparently by another
artist.) Three paintings by J.v. Rillaerz and several later paintings of
lesser value are stored there.
The oaken church treasure chest containing eight silver Holy Virgins,
some of them from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a Gothic
incense bowl, Gothic Renaissance monstrances of silver, highly artistic
and valuable ciboriums of the eighteenth century, also chandeliers,
candlesticks, swinging lamps, and other church regalia have been stored
in the City Hall. The report continues that an architect of Louvain has
been ordered to temporarily repair the damage of the roof regardless of
cost.
Thus of the old art works of the Church of St. Peter only the ventilator
is destroyed; the stone structure of the building itself remains intact.
Until the framework of the roof is rebuilt a temporary roof should be
constructed to shelter the interior of the church. A Louvain architect
has been authorized by the Mayor to do this work.
The semi-official Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, after publishing this
report, says:
"The disastrous accidental fire, called forth by the revolt of the
populace and then spread further through the storm wind, devastated
especially the rows of houses near the railroad station, in the
Bahnhofstrasse and in the centre of the city. The remaining churches lie
outside of the zone touched by the fire, which comprised about one-sixth
the area of the city; they were therefore not touched by the fire. Thus
there remained undamaged the Church of St. Michael, the Church of St.
Jacob, the Church of St. Gertrude, with all their notable art works;
likewise the College du Saint Esprit, with its library."
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