
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula Carillon - Brussels, Belgium
N 50° 50.865 E 004° 21.553
31U E 595685 N 5633774
The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, a Roman Catholic church in Brussels, Belgium, has a carillon in its south tower.
Waymark Code: WMMVFC
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Date Posted: 11/08/2014
Views: 24
"A chapel dedicated to St. Michael was probably built on the Treurenberg hill as early as the 9th century. In the 11th century it was replaced by a Romanesque church. In 1047, Lambert II, Count of Leuven founded a chapter in this church and organized the transportation of the relics of the martyr St. Gudula, housed before then in Saint Gaugericus Church on Saint-Géry Island. The patron saints of the church, St. Michael and St. Gudula, are also the patron saints of the city of Brussels.
In the thirteenth century, Henry I, Duke of Brabant ordered two round towers to be added to the church. Henry II, Duke of Brabant instructed the building of a Gothic collegiate church in 1226. The choir was constructed between 1226 and 1276. It took about 300 years to complete the entire church. It was completed just before the reign of the emperor Charles V commenced in 1519.
The dimensions of the building are: exterior length 114 metres (374 ft), interior length 109 metres (358 ft), exterior width at the choir 57 metres (187 ft), interior width 54 metres (177 ft) and height of towers 64 metres (210 ft).
The cathedral is built of stone from the Gobertange quarry which is located approximately 45 km south-east of the site of the Cathedral. The western façade with its three portals surmounted by gables and two towers are typical of the French Gothic style, but without rose window, which was replaced by a large window in the Brabantian Gothic style. The two towers, the upper parts of which are arranged in terraces, are attributed to the Flemish architect Jan Van Ruysbroeck (1470-1485), who also designed the tower of the Town Hall of Brussels.
The south tower contains a 49-bell carillon by the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry on which Sunday concerts are often given."
--Wikipedia (
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