Francois van Schoubrouck was the first student of the famous architect
P.J.H.
Cuypers. He was born in 1832 in Berchem near Antwerpen, Belgium, and began his
study at the Royal Academy in Antwerpen in 1847/1848, the year when Cuypers
graduated at the same academy. In 1851 Cuypers invited him to move to Roermond.
Until 1859 Van Schoubrouck lived in the Cuypers' house and was his assistant. In
1861 he left the Cuypers' firm when Cuypers ordered a ban on smoking in his workplaces, which caused a conflict with
part of his employees, one of them Van Schoubrouck. From that moment on the two
architects were rivals, and Van Schoubrouck sided against his former tutor in
the matter of the restoration of Roermond's Munsterkerk as well. In his short
life, Van Schoubrouck had little succes as an independent architect, and only
built one church. In 1864 or 1865 he managed to get commissioned for
the design of a new church for Ubach over Worms. His church is a three-aisled cruciform church in neo-Gothic style.
It shows many similarities to Cuypers' early churches and is inspired by early
French Gothic. Work started in 1869. Van Schoubrouck died unexpectedly in 1870,
either as the result of an accident or of a disease, and no other architect
was appointed to replaced him. However, the church was built by J. van
Groenendael, a builder with architectural aspirations, so possibly the
replacement came naturally.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back to Landgraaf municipality |