Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver

Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver is a Belgian village roughly 10 km east of Mechelen. It is a part of Sint-Katelijne-Waver. The village contains a neogothic church and is situated not far from the main highway between Brussels and Antwerp.

Etymology

The name Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver (pronounced on-zeh Lee-vuh vrao wuh-vhr) derives from the Flemish Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver, which means 'Our dear shivering Lady'. There is, however, an ongoing discussion amongst scholars. Some claim that the original meaning alluded irresoluteness, thus making the dear Lady an indecisive one, rather than one suffering from the effects of winter.^[1]

It is famous for the "wintertuin" ("winter garden", pronounced win-tehr-tan) of the Ursulines Institute and for the church. Only. It is almost never open to public visits, except on occasional open houses and group visits. The wintertuin is just one room (literally) in the Ursuline complex, initiated in 1841 and gradually expanding to fulfill its function as a boarding school and teacher training school. The identity of the architect of the wintertuin in 1900 has been lost in the passage of time, but its magnificent stained glass dome together with the interior decoration remains as a testament to the dazzling beauty of Art Nouveau architecture. All of the fixtures and furnishings of the wintertuin (kind reminder: win-tehr-tan) are original and have remained in superb condition. The other rooms of the Institute were created in different styles as was normal in interiors of church inmates.

References

Coordinates: 51°04′N 4°34′E / 51.067°N 4.567°E / 51.067; 4.567