A Heptagonal Church and City. Development, Form and Mean-ing of the Pilgrimage City of Scherpenheuvel under the Archdukes Albert and Isabella”.

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Anke Naujokat
• Subject Area: Architecture, Building and Construction History, Construction Research, Sustainable Building Technology ; Art History
• Term: from 2017 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 373090216

On the 'steep hill' – which is the nucleus of the village of Scherpenheuvel/Montaigu in Flemish Brabant – the Spanish archducal couple Albert and Isabella created an extraordinary heptagonal Pilgrimage ensemble of the early seventeenth century. The research project aims to analyse and interpret the genesis, the shape, and the program of Scherpenheuvel considering its three different levels of scale: the ideal plan of the town, the centrally planned church and the church's multi-layered artistic decoration consisting of three concentrically arranged iconographic programmes. The ensemble - whose concentric layout must be considered a unique case not only from the Flemish perspective but also in the broader context of seventeenth-century architecture - is documented and examined employing the specialised methods of building archaeology for the first time. An accurate survey will help to identify different stages of conceiving and constructing the church building and the city's plan. This will help to visualise the original appearance of the archducal project and how it was modified in later periods. Simultaneously, written sources as well as scholarly literature concerning the building ensemble, its design and construction process are systematically compiled, analysed, and interpreted. The iconographic programs are being examined from an art historical perspective. Microscopic and macroscopic approaches are thus combined in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the pilgrimage site regarding its building chronology, typology, use and iconology as well as political and religious purposes.During the first phase of the project the pilgrimage site‘s individual scales (urban planning, architecture, artistic programs) were documented and analysed in depth. Promising interdisciplinary insights emerged on the site's readability and meaning. On this basis, the second phase aims at the following objectives:1. completing the building documentation/research which was delayed due to the on-going pandemic; extending the scope of documentation to the former Oratorian monastery2. further analysis regarding the ensemble’s relationship to contemporary Italian and Flemish architecture in order to understand its emblematic relevance within the history of early seventeenth-century architecture3. further research into the three iconographic programs based on the questions and hypotheses that emerged from the first phase 4. in-depth cross-reading of all components (urban planning, architecture, iconographic programs)5. presenting results to the scientific community, local decision-makers and the public

• DFG Programme: Research Grants