The Gothic-Romanesque Saint Peter's church is located in the Rijselstraat.
This Romanesque church dedicated to Saint Peter was built in the 12th - 13th century in the location where the Flemish count Robrecht de Fries is said to have founded a house of prayer in 1073. It was rebuilt as a Gothic hall church in the late 15th - early 16th century. The first tower was destroyed in a fire in 1638. The church was not given a new tower until 1868.
The church was almost completely destroyed in the First World War. Only the vaults of the church were spared.
The famous reconstruction architect Jules Coomans has integrated the remains of the walls in the new church and replaced the Gothic superstructure of the tower with a Romanesque tower.
The Saint Peter's church is located in the lively Saint Peter's neighbourhood with its own giant, Robrecht de Fries. The locals carry their giant with pride in the tri-annual Cat's Parade through the streets of Ypres.
