"Notre-Dame Cathedral (Luxembourgish: Kathedral Notre-Dame, French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame, German: Kathedrale unserer lieben Frau) is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It was originally a Jesuit church, and its cornerstone was laid in 1613. It is the only cathedral in Luxembourg.
The church is a noteworthy example of late gothic architecture; however, it also has many Renaissance elements and adornments. At the end of the 18th century, the church received the miraculous image of the Maria Consolatrix Afflictorum, the patron saint of both the city and the nation.
Around 50 years later, the church was consecrated as the Church of Our Lady and in 1870, it was elevated by Pope Pius IX to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.
At the cemetery of the cathedral is the National Monument to the Resistance and to the Deportation. The centerpiece of the monument is the famous bronze monument by the 20th century Luxembourgish sculptor Lucien Wercollier called The Political Prisoner.
The cathedral was expanded and enlarged from 1935 to 1938.
Architecture
Though a noteworthy example of late gothic architecture, the Cathedral has many Renaissance elements and adornments.
20th century enlargement
From 1935 to 1938 the Cathedral was enlarged and expanded. This enlargement, which influence the silhouette of the fortress city of Luxembourg, went ahead according to plans by and under the supervision of the Luxembourgish architect Hubert Schumacher. The expanded area, which connects to the two choir bays of 1613-1621, characterises the image of the former Jesuit church both due to its spaceousness and through the architectural unity. The rebuilding of the exterior architecture on the Gothic-style cathedral presented a challenge, since the goal was to harmoniously integrate the church with the surrounding buildings, such as the former Athénée building from the 17th century, the national library, the old church of St. Maximin (1751) (now the Foreign Ministry), as well as the old residential houses.
Towers
The Cathedral has three towers, the west tower, which was the tower of the Jesuit church and which contains the bells, the east tower, and the central tower, which stands over the transept.
When the Cathedral was enlarged in 1935-1938, the east and central towers were added. The central tower, which is only a third of the height of the other towers, consists of a wide, pyramid-shaped base and a narrow peak cvered with copper. The roof itself is carried by a steel frame, consisting of two PN20 beams from ARBED-Belval.
On Good Friday, 5 April 1985, around mid-day, work on the roof caused the west tower to catch fire. The church bells, i.e. the Virgin Mary bell, the Willibrord bell, the Peter bell, and the Cunigunde bell were destroyed in the fire. When the tower collapsed, the roof of the central aisle was also partly damaged. It took until 17 October 1985 for the tower to be repaired."
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