Church of St. Adrian

Church of St. Adrian stands on Avenue Général Dossin de Saint-Georges in the Boondael neighborhood of Ixelles (Elsene), part of the Brussels-Capital Region. It is a Catholic parish church that today also carries the dedication to Saint Maroun, patron of the Maronite community, reflecting the presence of that community in this part of the city.

How far back does worship on this site go?

The story of this site stretches well beyond the current building. The first chapel in the hamlet of Boondael was built as early as 1453, at a time when this small cluster of houses still lay well outside the walls of medieval Brussels. In 1658, that chapel was enlarged to serve the needs of a growing local community. Another milestone came in 1842, when a masonry monument was erected to recreate the appearance of the old chapel — a marker of continuity that still shapes how the neighborhood remembers its origins.

When and how was the present church built?

The building visitors see today is considerably younger than the tradition it embodies. Construction of a new church meant to replace the old Boondael chapel as the parish's main place of Catholic worship began in 1938. The design was entrusted to architect Auguste Vanden Nieuwenborg. On 26 June 1938, the cardinal archbishop of Mechelen laid the first stone — a ceremony signaling the project's importance at the diocesan level. Building work continued over several years, and the sanctuary was consecrated on 18 May 1941, during the difficult period of the German occupation.

What does the architecture look like?

Vanden Nieuwenborg designed a massive structure crowned by a powerful bell tower set centrally on the main façade, giving the church its recognizable, monumental silhouette visible across the surrounding streets. The exterior walls are faced with "klampsteen" brick, a material widely used in Belgian religious and civic architecture of the early twentieth century, valued for its durability and distinctive warm texture.

What artworks are kept inside?

The church's true treasures are two Gothic retables housed in the chapel and baptistery. The first, depicting the "Martyrdom of Saint Adrian," is attributed to the workshop of Jan Borman the Elder and dated to 1490–1495 — the work of one of the most celebrated woodcarvers of the late Gothic Brabant tradition, whose pieces were commissioned for some of the region's most important churches. The second retable, showing the "Martyrdom of Saint Christopher," was produced within the circle of the Antwerp school around 1520. Together the two works tie the building's artistic heritage to its patronal identity: Saint Adrian, the church's namesake, is the subject of one retable, underscoring the continuity of dedication even though the building itself was entirely rebuilt in the twentieth century.

Frequently asked questions

Is the current church the same building as the old Boondael chapel? No. The present church was built between 1938 and 1941 as a new structure replacing the earlier chapel, though it continues a tradition of worship on the site dating back to 1453.

Who designed the Church of St. Adrian? Architect Auguste Vanden Nieuwenborg, whose design features a distinctive central bell tower and façades faced with "klampsteen" brick.

What artworks can be seen inside? Two Gothic retables: the "Martyrdom of Saint Adrian" (workshop of Jan Borman the Elder, 1490–1495) and the "Martyrdom of Saint Christopher" (Antwerp school, circa 1520).

To whom is the church dedicated today? To Saints Adrian and Maroun, reflecting the presence of the Maronite community in this part of Ixelles.