It seems summer is still in full swing in Belgium with the latest heatwave, but one Belgian city is already making some unique plans for the Christmas period: ice skating in a church.
The Limburg city of Sint-Truiden on Wednesday eagerly revealed its plans for the Christmas festivities. City Councillor Hilde Vautmans announced that, besides the traditional Christmas market, this year there will also be a Christmas tree maze on the Grote Markt and an ice skating rink in the Minderbroederskerk, a first in Belgium.
"An ice skating rink in the church, has never been done before in our country," said Vautmans during the presentation of the Christmas plans for the city, widely known for its beautiful fruit orchards.
In recent years, the deconsecrated Minderbroederskerk has already served as a vaccination room during the Covid-19 crisis, an exhibition space, a setting for an escape game and even as a show temple for drag queens.
But for its next purpose, it will have to wait for temperatures to drop significantly, as a 315-square-metre skating rink will be placed under the gaze of the still-present statues of saints.
The Minderbroederskerk will also host an exhibition around Christmas and nativity scenes from the nearby museum De Mindere at the same time.
Other novelties added to this year's agenda will be a maze of Christmas trees on the Groenmarkt, while the usual Christmas stalls will once again be set up around the Christmas tree on the Grote Markt.
