In the choir of St. Peter's Church in Leuven stands a twelve-meter-high
sacrament tower, designed by architect Matheus de Laeyens in 1450.
It was commissioned by the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament.
From the mid-15th century onward, sacrament towers were common.
They are tower-shaped tabernacles in which the Blessed Sacrament, a host,
was preserved. This design was no exception: this example therefore features
doors on the choir side and toward the two northern apse chapels, which the
Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament received from the Chapter of
St. Peter in 1432. Sacrament towers were regularly built until the 17th century,
when the Church decided that the tabernacle should be placed in the
center of the altar. This is one of the oldest preserved sacrament towers in Belgium.