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CATHEDRAL OF ST MICHAEL

AND ST GUDULA

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM     CATHOLIC    

PAUL SCOTT

HISTORY

 

Year Built: 11th – 15th centuries

Address: Esp. de la Sainte-Gudule, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium

The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, usually shortened to the Cathedral of St. Gudula, or St. Gudula, by locals, is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in central Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, the patron saints of the City of Brussels, and is considered to be one of the finest examples of Brabantine Gothic architecture.

The Romanesque church’s construction began in the 11th century, replacing an earlier chapel, and was largely complete in its current Gothic form by the 16th, though its interior was frequently modified in the following centuries. The building includes late-Gothic and Baroque chapels, whilst its neo-Gothic decorative elements, including some of its stained glass windows in the aisles, date from restoration work in the 19th century. St. Gudula also stands out for its musical components, notably its two pipe organs and its immense church bells. The complex was designated a historic monument in 1936.

The church was elevated to cathedral status in 1962 and has since been the co-cathedral of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels, together with St. Rumbold’s Cathedral in Mechelen. As the national church of Belgium and the Primate of Belgium’s official seat, it frequently hosts royal weddings, state funerals and other official ceremonies, such as the Te Deum on Belgian National Day.

Since the mid-20th century, following the construction of the North–South connection, St. Gudula is situated on the Parvis Sainte-Gudule/Sinter-Goedelevoorplein, a large forecourt east of the Boulevard de l'Impératrice/Keizerinlaan. This area is served by Brussels-Central railway station, as well as by Parc/Park metro station on lines 1 and 5 of the Brussels Metro.

 

Early history

The cathedral’s origins are obscure, but historians agree that, as early as the 9th century, a chapel dedicated to Saint Michael probably stood in its place, on what was the most important point of Brussels at the time; the crossroads of two major trade routes—a first one connecting the County of Flanders and Cologne, and another between Antwerp and Mons, then France. These crossroads were located on the Treurenberg hill (French: Mont des pleurs; ‘Mount of sorrows’), where the St. Gudula Gate stood (integrated in the first city walls), and which was later used as an ominously famous prison, hence its name.

In the 11th century, this first chapel was replaced by a Romanesque church. In 1047, Count Lambert II of Leuven, and his wife Oda of Verdun, founded a chapter in this church, and organised the transportation to it of the relics of the martyr Saint Gudula, which were housed before then in Saint Gaugericus' Church on Saint-Géry Island (where today’s Halles Saint-Géry/Sint-Gorikshallen are located). In 1072, the church was reconsecrated, probably following a fire.

At the end of the 12th century, a Romanesque avant-corps (porch, pavilion) was added to the west of the nave. In the 13th century, Henry I, Duke of Brabant, ordered two round towers to be added to the church. His son, Henry II, Duke of Brabant, instructed the building of a Brabantine Gothic collegiate church in 1226. The choir was constructed between 1226 and 1276. The nave and transept date from the 14th and 16th centuries. The entire church took about 300 years to complete. The main structure was finalised just before Emperor Charles V's reign began in 1519.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the church underwent several modifications, the most remarkable of which was the addition of some chapels: the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament of the Miracle (1534–1539), the Chapel of Our Lady of Deliverance (1649–1655) and the Chapel of St. Mary Magdalen (also called the Maes Chapel) (1672–1675). On 6 June 1579, the collegiate church was pillaged and wrecked by Protestant Geuzen (‘Beggars’), and Saint Gudula’s relics were disinterred and scattered. In the 1790s, it also suffered looting and destruction by French revolutionaries known as the sans-culottes, including the loss of its original carillon.

 

19th century–present

The church was designated a historic monument on 5 March 1936. In the mid-20th century, it was narrowly spared during the building of the North–South connection, a major railway link through central Brussels. On that occasion, a large forecourt, known as the Parvis Sainte-Gudule/Sinter-Goedelevoorplein, was built in front of it. It was not until 1962, with the creation of the Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels, that the collegiate church was promoted to the rank of co-cathedral, when it became the seat of the Archbishop, together with St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen. The church’s current patron saints, Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, are also those of the City of Brussels.

Restoration work was carried out in the 19th century under the direction of the architect Tilman-François Suys who, from 1839 to 1845, restored the towers and portals, and again in the 20th century under the direction of Jean Rombaux, then Victor Gaston Martiny, chief architect-town planner of the Province of Brabant and member of the Royal Committee for Monuments and Sites. The cathedral was once again thoroughly restored between 1983 and 1999. On that occasion, archaeological excavations were undertaken, which led to the discovery of remains of the Romanesque church and crypt underneath the current choir.

 

The cathedral’s main features

Most of the cathedral is in the Brabantine Gothic style, although some parts are in the newer Baroque style. It is traditionally listed, alongside the Chapel Church and the Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon, as one of the three Gothic churches still standing in central Brussels. The cathedral is built of stone from the Gobertange quarry, which is located in present-day Walloon Brabant, approximately 45 km (28 mi) south-east of the cathedral's site.

The building adopts the classic plan: a Latin cross with a three-bay long choir ending in a five-sided apse surrounded by an ambulatory. It is imposing by its sheer size: 110 metres (360 ft) long, 30 metres (98 ft) wide (50 metres (160 ft) at the level of the choir), and 26.5 metres (87 ft) high (the entrance towers reach a height of 69 metres (226 ft)).

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_St._Michael_and_St._Gudula