Eglise Notre Dame de Bon Secours - Brussels, Belgium
N 50° 50.731 E 004° 20.876
31U E 594895 N 5633512
Eglise Notre Dame de Bon Secours (or Our Lady of Assistance Church) was constructed in the 17th century and is located in the heart of Brussels, Belgium.
Waymark Code: WMM5XT
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Date Posted: 07/27/2014
Views: 10
"The church of Notre-Dame de Bon Secours, located at the corner of rue du Marché au Charbon and rue du Jardin des Olives, the center of the city of Brussels is a religious building from the XVII century. It is church parish Catholic area near the town hall of Brussels.
History
At this location there was a small chapel already mentioned in the twelfth century. At the chapel succeeds, the XIII century, the first church is dedicated to St. Jacques le Majeur: the pilgrims en route to St Jacques de Compostela to visit indeed during their passage in Brussels.
In 1625, a master shoemaker named Jacques Meeus, provost of the Brotherhood Saint-Jacques, discovered a statue of the Virgin Mary, which quickly became an object of veneration. He is credited with miraculous powers. She received the name Notre Dame de Bon Secours. The influx of the faithful led to the construction of a new chapel in baroque style in 1664-1694 under the direction of the cabinetmaker and architect Jean Cortvrindt. The church suffered extensive damage during the bombardment of 1695.
Architecture
The church is original in that it does not follow the architectural canons of the seventeenth century. Instead of the traditional Latin cross, its architecture is based on the circle, inspired by contemporary Italian churches. The choir form a hexagon bounded by four pilasters and two pillars. The nave is short and has only two bays, however with their aisles. Imposing a narthex is surmounted by a gallery whose central part is the organ."
Source: Wikipedia with English translation by Google (
visit link)
A historical marker outside the church provides the following additional information:
"Built between 1664 and the end of the XVII century on the location of the old chapel of the Saint-Jacques hospital, this Baroque church was named after a statue discovered at this spot in 1625 and believed to be miraculous. Built according to a design by J. Cortvrindt, the construction of this edifice, starting from the choir towards the facade, was conducted successively by two architects: P.-P. Merckx and G. De Bruyn. Restored several times, this church essentially constructed in sandstone is impressive by its well-balanced proportions, its volumes, the ribbed cupola with a hexagonal plane and the very subdued decoration."