M-Treasury of Saint Peter’s

Bert Beckers

Home
M-Treasury of Saint Peter's (closed)

The jewel in Leuven’s crown

Saint Peter’s Church deserves to be on your bucket list. It houses Leuven’s most beautiful painting: The Last Supper by Dirk Bouts. This is the only painting by a Flemish Primitive that still hangs in exactly the same location for which it was intended.

Between 25 June 2018 and 20 September 2019, the M-Treasury will be closed for renovations. A number of masterpieces are on display in St Peter’s Church itself.

Saint Peter’s Church

High Gothic Highpoint

Dominique Provost

Saint Peter’s Church

High Gothic Highpoint

Saint Peter’s Church is only two minutes’ walk from M. The oldest church in Leuven has an exceptionally rich history and embodies Brabantine High Gothic architecture at its finest. The impressive choir and ambulatory have been transformed into a museum and dubbed the M-Treasury of Saint Peter’s.

Painter of Silence

Dirk Bouts

Painter of Silence

The Dutch painter Dirk Bouts (ca. 1410-1475) moved to Leuven and married there in 1448. His masterpiece The Last Supper is a thoroughly Leuven-inspired painting. Like a director, he transports Jesus and his Apostles to Leuven in the 15th century. Through the window on the left, you can see the Grote Markt during the building of the town hall. His characters look like unmoved actors: they are physically present, but seemingly unmoved.