Brussels Minster

The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (; ), usually shortened to the Cathedral of St. Gudula or St. Gudula by locals, is a medieval 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.Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula
on GCatholic.org 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 has been situated on the /, a large forecourt east of the /. 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.

History

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 (; "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, Lambert II, Count 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 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.

File:Brussel, KBB, ms. 9296, f.17r.jpg, Miniature of Margaret of York praying in front of the Church of St. Gudula,
File:Erycius Puteanus, Bruxella, incomparabili exemplo septenaria, 1646 (Gudila).jpg, St. Gudula's Church, engraving by Erycius Puteanus, 1646
File:Engraving St Gudula Brussels 1711.jpg, St. Gudula's Church, etching by Pieter Devel from ''Les délices des Pays-Bas'', 1711
File:Andreas Martin, De Sint-Michielskerk, 37 x 45 cm (Museum NBB).jpg, St. Gudula's Church, painting by Andreas Martin, before 1762

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 /, 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 Archbishop's seat, 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 those occasions, archaeological excavations were undertaken, which led to the discovery of remains of the Romanesque church and crypt underneath the current choir.

File:Doop Louis Philipp.jpg, Baptism of Crown Prince Louis-Philippe, son of King Leopold I, in St. Gudula's Church, 1833
File:Eglise Sainte-Gudule - Façade ouest - Bruxelles - Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine - APMH00011282.jpg, The church in the early 20th century
File:Briefkaart Sint Gudulakerk en straat in Brussel.jpg, The street (now demolished) in front of the church, in the 1920s
File:Begrafenis van Koningin Elizabeth van België te Brussel het stoffelijk overscho, Bestanddeelnr 918-5094.jpg, Funeral of Queen Elisabeth at the (by then) cathedral, 30 November 1965

Description

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 Church of Our Lady of the Chapel and the Church of Our Lady of Victories at 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 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: long, wide ( at the level of the choir), and high (the entrance towers reach a height of ).

Exterior

Main façade and towers

The main (western) façade with its three portals surmounted by gables and two towers are typical of the French Gothic style, but without a rose window, as it features instead a large ogival window in the Brabantine Gothic style. The whole structure is supported by sturdy flying buttresses with double spans, influenced by Soissons Cathedral, crowned by pinnacles and gargoyles.

The two towers, built between 1470 and 1485, the upper parts of which are arranged in terraces, are attributed to Jan Van Ruysbroeck, the court architect of Philip the Good, who also designed the tower of Brussels' Town Hall and the Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Guido in Anderlecht. They appear to be unfinished, lacking the spires seen in other Gothic cathedrals, and were originally meant to be much higher, in a style close to the Town Hall's tower or the north tower of the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp. They nonetheless remain a prominent feature in the skyline of downtown Brussels.

The strong predominance of the vertical lines of this façade is impressive; four robust buttresses close and separate the three portals. The two at the ends become more important by integrating two tall buttressed turrets that rise from the base to the top of the towers themselves. Furthermore, the façade is divided horizontally into three levels: a lower one entirely centred on the three portals; a median one opened by the large multi-light window flanked by two high three-light windows, each inscribed in the axis of one of the towers; and an upper one characterised by the large triangular tympanum which, developing from a gallery with fine columns, is topped by several flaming pinnacles, of which the central, more imposing, reaches a height of .

File:(Belgium) St. Michael & St. Gudula Cathedral Tower, Brussels.jpg, The western façade
File: Cathedrale saints-michel-et-gudule003.jpg, The central portal
File: Cathedrale saints-michel-et-gudule002.jpg, Ogival window and decorative merlon
File:Bruxelles cathédrale 801.jpg, Statue of Saint Michael slaying the dragon

Chapels

From the transept, on each side of the choir, two large late-Gothic chapels, added in the 16th century (for the northern Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament of the Miracle), and the 17th century (for the southern Chapel of Our Lady of Deliverance), protrude. The large proportion of these chapels gives the impression that the building has three choirs. Behind the apse, on the church's central axis, the Chapel of St. Mary Magdalen (also called the Maes Chapel), in Baroque style, was inserted in 1672–1675 between the buttresses, with an octagonal plan with a dome and lantern.

File:Cathédrale St. Michel- Brüssel - panoramio.jpg, View of the apse and chapels
File:Bruxelles Co-Cathédrale St. Michel & Ste. Gudule Chor Kapelle.jpg, Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament of the Miracle
File:Chapelle Maes 02.JPG, Chapel of St. Mary Magdalen (or Maes Chapel)

Staircase and forecourt

The monumental staircase in front of the cathedral, designed by Pieter Paul Merckx, was placed in the period 1702–1707. This staircase, a gift from the City of Brussels, was originally built against the city walls to provide access to the promenade on the stretch between the Laeken Gate and the Schaerbeek Gate.

In the centre of the gardens located in front of the cathedral's forecourt stands a bust of King Baudouin. It is the work of the sculptor . The bust was completed on 6 June 1996, and remained at the city's administrative centre until road works on the / were completed. It was integrated into its current environment in 2003–04, as part of the renovation of this green space. It was vandalised in June 2020, following the George Floyd protests in Belgium.

File:ST MICHEL ET GUDULLE.jpg, View of the monumental staircase
File:Cathedral in Brussels 01.jpg, Bust of King Baudouin in front of the cathedral
File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Monument Roi Baudouin - 02.jpg, Closeup of King Baudouin's bust

Interior

Nave

The nave possesses all the characteristics of Brabantine Gothic; the four-part vaults are moderately high and the robust cylindrical columns that line the nave's central aisle are topped with capitals in the shape of cabbage leaves. Statues of the twelve apostles are attached to the columns. These statues date from the 17th century and were created by Lucas Faydherbe