Saint Mary's Royal Church
Saint Mary's Royal Church | ||
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50°51′33″N 4°22′08″E / 50.85917°N 4.36889°E | ||
Location | Place de la Reine / Koninginneplein 1030 Schaerbeek, Brussels-Capital Region | |
Country | Belgium | |
Denomination | Roman Catholic | |
History | ||
Status | Parish church | |
Dedication |
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Architecture | ||
Functional status | Active | |
Heritage designation | Protected Style
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Groundbreaking | 1845 | |
Completed | 1888 | |
Specifications | ||
Number of domes | 1 | |
Administration | ||
Archdiocese | Mechelen–Brussels | |
Clergy | ||
Archbishop | Luc Terlinden (Primate of Belgium) |
Saint Mary's Royal Church (
This site is served by the
.History
Construction
The building was designed by the architect Henri Désiré Louis Van Overstraeten and built between 1845 and 1888 in an
After Hansotte's death in 1866, the architects François Thomisse and Alexandre Struyven took over as directors of the site. The final acceptance of the completion works takes place on 11 January 1888. A long period of interior fittings then began, which continued well beyond the solemn consecration of the church, which took place on 14 October 1902, feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, by the archbishop of Mechelen Cardinal Goossens.[1]
Repairs and protection
As early as 1870, the building required expensive repairs to remedy rainwater infiltration generated by repeated work interruptions. Despite punctual restoration work over the next seventy years, the deterioration continued after World War II. Following the fall of several stones on the street below it in 1963, the crown of the tower attached to the side of the church, designed by Hansotte, was demolished, and the church was ultimately closed in 1965, its condition considered too dangerous.[1]
The building received
Description
Structurally, the body of the church is an octagon, the southern side of which opens onto the porch, and the northern side onto a rectangle that receives, in elevated form, the sanctuary, and in the basement, a large crypt. Eight pillars around the perimeter of an inner circle 25 metres (82 ft) in diameter form the framework of the building. A 5-metre-wide (16 ft) ambulatory encircles this circular nave. Six chapels occupy the other sides of the octagon. The pillars are linked to each other by horseshoe arches. A staircase leads up to the sanctuary. To the right and left of the stairs, walking two flights down to the Romanesque-style crypt, with, on the lower floor, a "sub-crypt".[a]
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The church from the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat in nearby Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
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View of the church by night
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Inside view
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The pulpit
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The retable
See also
- List of churches in Brussels
- Roman Catholicism in Belgium
- History of Brussels
- Culture of Belgium
- Belgium in the long nineteenth century
References
Footnotes
- ^ The large size of the crypt, in a church associated by its location with the Belgian monarchy, suggested that it had been designed with a view to becoming the resting place of the Belgian royal family.
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g "Schaerbeek - Église Sainte-Marie - Place de la Reine - VAN OVERSTRAETEN Henri Désiré Louis". www.irismonument.be. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ "Eglise Royale Sainte Marie". visit.brussels. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
Bibliography
- Louis van Overstraeten, Architectonographie des Temples chrétiens (in French), Mechelen, 1850.
- Jean Delsaux, L'église Ste-Marie à Bruxelles, une œuvre d'une ferveur et d'une probité artistique exceptionnelles, in Les Amis de l'église Ste-Marie, s. d. (in French), Brussels, 1968
External links
- Media related to Saint Mary's Royal Church at Wikimedia Commons
- Phillips: Sainte-Marie Royal Church
- Sacred Destinations: Église Sainte-Marie, Brussels
- Schaarbeek.be: Sinte-Mariakerk[permanent dead link] (Dutch/Flemish)