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Notre-Dame de Laeken

admin — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:16:51 +0000

l’Église Notre-Dame de Laeken (Our Lady of Laeken Church) is well known as the official burial place for Belgium’s kings and queens.
The Construction of this church began in 1854 to honor the memory of the first Queen of the Belgians Louise-Marie, who died in 1850.
The architect J. Poelaert was chosen after a competition was held, but he resigned from the project in 1865. This led to many interruptions in building work, which was finally restarted between 1904 and 1911 by his fellow architect von Schmidt from Munich.
With the assistance of the architect Groothaert, von Schmidt built a new facade in front of the first one and completed the towers and steeple. The royal crypt, the windows and furnishings with their Gothic character make the church one of the most important Neogothic buildings in the region.

Location of Notre-Dame de Laeken Church:

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Photos of Notre-Dame de Laeken:

Our Lady of Laeken Church from a distance

Details of stone carving

Grimacing demons around the towers serve as protection

At its feet

View from the back of Notre-Dame de Laeken

From the back side

Entering inside Notre-Dame de Laeken

Depictions of Jesus and Mary

Church high Walls

confessional

Depictions Saint Antoine and Saint Theresa

Central portion of Our Lady of Laeken Church

Seated portion on the left

The organ

Depiction of Saint Roch

Back Stained Glass Windows

View of Our Lady of Laeken Church from high up at the organ

Closer look at the ceremony underway

Entering the Royal Crypt

Five Belgian kings and their wives lay for their eternal rest here

King Leopold I and Louise-Marie

King Leopold II and Marie Henriette of Austria

King Albert I and Elisabeth

King Leopold III & Astrid

King Baudouin

Abbaye de la Cambre

admin — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:47:49 +0000

The Abbaye of la Cambre’s attractive main courtyard, with its abbey lodgings flanked by corner pavilions and outbuildings arranged along a semicircular plan, forms a very harmonious 18C ensemble, born of the desire of the abbesses to recreate the atmosphere of their family châteaux. The community usually consisted of about 100 women, many from families of high nobility in the duchy. Avenue de Mot overlooking the abbey provides the best view of the French-style terraced gardens. They were designed in about 1720 and restored in 1930. They are very restful, particularly on summer evenings when the illuminations are very attractive.

Location of the Abbaye de la Cambre:

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The Abbaye de la Cambre from the stair of the the Promenade des abbesses

The peaceful surroundings of the Abbaye of la Cambre

Entrance leading to the building housing the National Geographic institute

The church — The original 14C building was destroyed during the 1581 fire. When rebuilt at the end of the 16C under the auspices of Philip ll, it was incorporated into the surrounding buildings. The graceful Gothic facade is decorated with several sculptures. The Classical blue stone portal conceals a much more sober Gothic style porch which is partially concealed. The chevet and its beautiful buttresses are visible from the courtyard.

Abbey church entrance from the Cour d’honneur

Entering the Church

Details

Opposite side of the church

Chapel

The entrance is in the northern transept which is, in fact, a false transept formed by two chapels. On the east wall is the shrine of St Boniface (rebuilt in the 17C). The single nave exemplifies Cistercian simplicity; it is roofed with wooden barrel vaulting (partially polychrome), lit by eight high tracery windows, and decorated with Stations of the Cross by Anto Carte (1886-1954).
The chancel has stained-glass windows by the same artist but has lost its original vaulting which was replaced in the 17C. The most interesting features are a Mocking Christ by Aelbrecht Bouts (1452-1549) on the north wall of the nave; the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, parallel to the nave, dedicated to St Philip Neri; the south transept which is also the Lady Chapel (see the consoles
carved with figures and symbolic animals) and which communicates with the chancel via a small opening.

School of decorative arts or École des Arts Décoratifs

Benches in from of the ducks pond or mare aux canards

Inside view of la cour d’honneur

A bit of history of the Abbaye de la Cambre– In 1201, Duke Henry I and his wife Mathilda gave the Cistercian Sisters a small valley watered by the Maelbeek River, so charming that it was nicknamed Little Switzerland. Sister Gisela founded a monastery there. The future St Boniface, then Bishop of Lausanne, although originally from Brussels, went to live in the abbey in 1242 to flee Emperor Frederick II who had just been excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX. The abbey prospered, grew rich and reached the peak of its glory in the late 13C.But after the rise came the fall. The abbey suffered from the Wars of Religion in the 16C. In 1581, the nuns left the abbey, which was devastated by Spanish troops who set fire to the building to prevent the army of the States from seeking refuge there. Ever tenacious, the nuns returned in 1599, until Henri de Nassau caused the ruin of Brabant in 1622. A short time afterwards in 1635 the sisters evacuated the abbey to make way for French and Dutch troops. They returned just in time to see Louis XIV on his way to lay siege to the town of Maastricht in 1673. Unfortunately, in the words of Viscount Terlinden, “this dazzling apparition of war in lace collars soon disappeared, leaving in its wake only the sad reality of pillaging, extortion, ruin and death”.

Other building of the School of decorative arts or École des Arts Décoratifs

The jardins étagés

View from the top of the gardens

The Abbaye de la Cambre was suppressed in 1796 by the French Republic and now houses the services of the National Geographic Institute and several sections of the National School of Architecture and Decorative Arts, known as “La Cambre” its de La Cambre is a translation of the Latin camera (chamber) which lost its “h” under the influence of the Dutch Ter Kameren.

Opposite side of the École des Arts Décoratifs buildings

People often come to the ducks pond during the lunch break

Path that circling around Abbaye de la Cambre

Chapelle de Marie la Miserable

admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:59:12 +0000

Chapel of Marie la Miserable
This Gothic chapel, whose origins certainly date from the 14th century, was modified many times until its restoration in 1970. It evokes the moving story – told by the playwright M. de Ghelderode in his play Marie la Miserable (1952) – of a young peasant girl who became the victim of a powerful person whose advances she had spurned. To avenge himself, the rebuffed seducer slipped a valuable vase into her bag, then accused her of theft. Injustly condemned, the young girl was buried alive.

Location of Chapelle de Marie la Misérable:

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Photos of Chapelle de Marie la Miserable

Chapel of Marie la Miserable from the other side

The chapel can be visited daily from 7 am to 6 pm.

Most of the furniture inside dates back to the 17th Century

Going around into its garden designed by René Pechère

Side of the chapel seen from within its gardens

Eglise Saint-Joseph

admin — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:32:36 +0000

L’église Saint-Joseph or in English the Saint-Joseph Church is the core and heart of the “Quartier Leopold”, this national monument celebrating Belgium’s patron saint, was built between 1842 and 1849 and was designed by T.-F. Suys, architect of the “Civil society for the Extension and Embellishment of Brussels” which was at the origin of this vast extramural urban expansion project.

The Neo-Renaissance façade was simultaneously inspired by famous Italian edifices and by classical French architecture.

The inside of the church presents a basilica-like layout

Closer look from down the aisle

Virgin Mary statue

Featured in its flat chevet is a large painting by A. Wiertz, “The Holy Family”

Confessionals

Grande Synagogue de Bruxelles

admin — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 18:59:08 +0000

La Grande Synagogue de Bruxelles, or in English The Great Synagogue of Brussels is located at 32 Rue de la Regence. It was designed in 1875 by the architect De Keyser in the Romanesque-Byzantine style. The city of Brussels counts today about 15000 residents of the Jewish faith.

Close up on the facade

Eglise Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:05:42 +0000

Église Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours, or in English the church of Our Lady of Assistance is located at Rue du Marché au Charbon. Originally a modest 12th century chapel that became too small for the growing Parish the architects Pierre-Paul Merckx and Jean Corvrindt demolished the surrounding walls and built in 1669 the church we know of today. They took inspiration from Italy when designing this church. The result was a very skillful combination of two styles produced a very interesting Baroque Flemish-Italian mix that differs a lot from the traditional Flemish style.

The Exterior:

Full view from rue jardin des olives

Now from the other side which also hosts popular cafés

Facade with cross of Teutonic order

The Interior:

View as you enter

Main Altar

Altar of Saint Joseph

Altar of Saint James

Gorgeous looking resurrect Christ made of hammered copper

Chapelle de la Madeleine

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:28:50 +0000

Chapelle de la Madeleine or in English The Church of St. Mary Magdalene is one of the oldest churches in Brussels, having been established by the Brothers of Mercy in the 13th century. Excavations carried out when the church was last restored (1956-1958) revealed sub-foundation walls, thereby proving the existence of a much older sanctuary built, it is believed, by the Knights Templar on the foundations of which the present church was initially built.

The Church of St. Mary Magdalene viewed from the back

From the side

This small church displays a remarkable unity, thereby enabling it to provide a much-valued place prayer, contemplation and liturgy There is a harmony between the dimensions of the church, the materials used in its construction and the color of the stained-glass windows. At the beginning of the 13th century two aisles were added to the church.This is also the period when the facade with its large stained-glass window was built, as was, it is believed, the small bell tower above the facade.

The external door, which bears the date 1637, is from the baroque period (17th century).The church was on the point of being demolished in the wake of the major urban redevelopment which took place in Brussels from the beginning of the 20th century. The church was abandoned and emptied but was fortunately finally granted a reprieve and fully restored in the period 1956 to 1958, whilst the surrounding area was razed to the ground.

Before entering the chapel take a look at the small statues of St. Mary Magdalene, portrayed wearing medieval dress, and the statue of St. Anne carrying the infant Jesus.

At rue de la Madelaine to take a look at the very fine Baroque facade of the Chapel of St. Anne.

In the course of the restoration work in the 1950s the Chapel of St. Anne, formerly situated in the rue de la Montagne, was rebuilt and attached to the church. The chapel has a baroque facade dating from 1615. This new addition to the church houses a much-visited chapel dedicated to St. Rita Access is via the left aisle of the church.

One glance inside the church is enough to enable you to recognize its harmonious dimensions and atmosphere of peace and contemplation. On looking further, your eyes are drawn towards the sparsely decorated chancel and, in particular, the cross in the center, which serves to remind you that a church is above all a place of prayer. From the cross, your eyes are drawn upwards to the five Gothic stainer-glass windows of the impressive chancel. The overriding image is one of vertical lines, providing a sense of elevation. The chancel seems to advance into the nave and image enhanced by the series of ceiling ribs up to the enormous arch which spans the whole building and seems to divide it. At this point the ribbed ceiling gives way to a flat, oak-panelled ceiling, one of the few to be found in Brussels.

The stained-glass window above the icon depicts the assumption of the Virgin Mary. St. Augustin and St. Monica are depicted to the left and right of the Virgin Mary. These are the main patron saints of the monks of the Order of the Assumption, who have been officiating at the church since 1924. The five stained-glass windows in the chancel depict the story of the redemption, linked. to the life of St. Mary Magdalene.

In the center we see the Cross of Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s sacrifice man is freed of sin (right windows) and the path is opened to the resurrection and the contemplation of the lord (left windows). The stained-glass windows in the aisles depict saints, each of whose name is indicated. Nicholas Pieck (3rd window, bottom left) was known for his preaching, particularly in this church.

He was one of the martyrs of Gorcum (1572) whose shrine is in the Church of St. Nicholas in Brussels. St.julienne of Mont-Cornillon (second window, bottom left) is the saint from Liege who inspired devotion to the Holy Sacrament.

The centre of Services at the church of St. Mary Magdalene

Services given in French

Persons in charge:
Fraternity of the Assumption
Rue des Braves 21
B – 1081 Bruxelles
Tel: (02) 410 29 57
Fax: (02) 410 30 73

Divine Service Mass – Monday to Friday
at 12 noon and 7 p.m.

Mass – Saturday and Sunday

Saturday at 4.30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunday at 7.30 a.m., 9.30 a.m.,
10.30 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Information and confessions

Every day from 5.30 p.m. to 7p.m.
Rosary
Every day before evening mass
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
Every day from 5.30 p.m. to 6.30
P.m.
Mass in honor of St. Rita: 10 a.m.
on the first Thursday of every month.

Eglise Notre-Dame de la Chapelle

admin — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:39:13 +0000

The building of this impressive Notre-Dame-de-la-Chapelle Church shows well the transition between its original Romanesque to later Gothic launched in 1210 that was eventually completed during the 13th century.

This church suffered all through history’s turmoil: transformations, a bombardment, fire, pillage, and multiple reconstructions dating from 15th century, as well as many long and meticulous restorations along the 19th and 20th centuries. Although mainly Gothic, the most striking feature of its outline is its somewhat perplexing looking Baroque Bell tower that was added after the 1695 bombardment.

EXTERIOR:

Church from Notre-Dame-de-la-Chapelle from one of its sides

From the back

From the other side

frontal view

The baroque bell Tower stands out from the mainly Gothic architecture

close-up

INTERIOR:

Entering the nave there are noticeable sculptures by J. Duquesnoy the Young, L. Fayd’herbe and J. Cosyn

Altar

Inside the Chapel of the St. Sacrament

Eglise Saint-Servais

admin — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:31:43 +0000

Église Saint-Servais or in English the Saint Servatius church of Neo-Gothic style was built in between 1871 to 1876 and is located in the municipality of Schaarbeek.

Saint Servatius church

Saint Servatius church from one of its sides

From the back

the base

The upper portion

The tower

Eglise Saint Lambert

admin — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 09:19:45 +0000

Église St. Lambert, or in English the Saint Lambert Church is located in the Woluwe-Saint-Lambert municipality of Brussels. The steeple and the central part of this Romanesque church whose origins remain uncertain date back to the 12th Century. At that time it was probably conceived as a village church with one nave. As the population increased, the church was modified and enlarged, notably by the addition of the side aisles and a chapel dedicated to Our lady. The choir was rebuilt and endowed with neo-Gothic interior decoration in the 19th Century. In 1938, a new neo-Romanesque style church was attached to it, the work of the architect Ch. Veraart.

The exterior

inside