The Vagrants Chapel - Unique across the World

This video shows why the Landloperskapel in Merksplas-Kolonie is unique across the world. It was built in the second half of the 1890ies. Petrus Lambertus Goossens, Bishop of Mechelen inaugurated the chapel on September 25, 1899.
It is one of the buildings around the Merksplas prison. It also served as a prayer house for the local community. The Landloperskapel was a subsidiary church of the parish of Merksplas. Therefore there is no church clock on it. Officially no baptisms or marriages or burials could be conducted in the Landloperskapel. However, several took place: perhaps there was an silent agreement with the village priest.
Since the end of the 20th century the chapel has no longer been used as a place of worship. For some time the staff association of Merksplas prison used it as a multifunctional hall (to play volleyball or table tennis; organise a flea market or a Christmas festival ..). Since 2005 the chapel has been the property of the municipality of Merksplas. Nowadays it is used for wedding parties and cultural festivities.