In Europe’s empty churches, prayer and confessions make way for drinking and dancing

Confessional booths are stacked into a corner of a church in Belgium. The building is to close down for two years while a cafe and concert stage are added, with plans to turn the church into “a new cultural hot spot in the heart of Mechelen,” almost within earshot of where Belgium’s archbishop lives. A landmark repurposing project in Belgium was Martin’s Patershof hotel in Mechelen, where the interior of the church was gutted to create rooms where the beds have headboards resembling organ pipes and a breakfast room next to the altar where wafers of gold leaf hover overhead. “I am more concerned about the actual architectural value.” The design value is especially clear at St. Anthony of Padua church in Brussels, also known as the Maniak Padoue climbing club these days, where the multicolored hand and footholds on the wall now compete with the stained glass as the prime attraction. “The altar is still in place, so we are surrounded by remains and it reminds us where we actually are.” The Martin’s Patershof hotel in Mechelen, Belgium, was gutted to create rooms where the beds have headboards resembling organ pipes.