Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels


The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic Minor Basilica and parish church in Brussels, Belgium. The church is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, inspired by the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in Paris. Symbolically, King Leopold II laid the first stone of the basilica in 1905 during the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence. The construction was halted by the two World Wars and finished only in 1969. Belonging to the Metropolitan Archbishopric of Mechelen-Brussels, it is one of the ten largest Roman Catholic churches by area in the world.
Located in the Parc Elisabeth atop the Koekelberg Hill at the border between Brussels' Koekelberg and Ganshoren municipalities, the church is popularly known as the Koekelberg Basilica. The massive brick and concrete reinforced church features two thin towers and a green copper dome that rises above the ground, dominating Brussels' northwestern skyline. It is served by Simonis metro station on lines 2 and 6 of the Brussels metro.

History

In the mid-19th century, King Leopold I dreamed of turning the uninhabited Koekelberg hill into a royal residence area. After his death just before 1880, King Leopold II envisaged building a Belgian Panthéon dedicated to Great Belgians, inspired by the French Panthéon in Paris, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence. The King dropped this project due to the lack of enthusiasm of the Belgian population. In 1902, King Leopold II visited the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur of Paris and decided to build instead a pilgrimage church, a national sanctuary dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Neo-Gothic Basilica (1905–1914)

The initial project of Leuven-based architect Pierre Langerock was a sumptuous neo-Gothic church inspired by the "ideal cathedral" of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
King Leopold II laid the first stone on 12 October 1905 during the celebrations commemorating the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence. Financing the construction of the church soon became a problem. Only the foundations had been finished when World War I broke out. In his pastoral letter for Christmas 1914, Cardinal Mercier gave the Basilica a new meaning:

Art Deco Basilica (1919–1969)

On 29 June 1919, King Albert I and a large crowd associated themselves with this promise in a ceremony on the Koekelberg hill. However it was impossible to resume Langerock's plan due to the state of public finances. A project by architect Albert Van Huffel was adopted.
Cardinal Jozef-Ernest van Roey consecrated the unfinished church on 14 October 1935, after obtaining a special authorisation from Pope Pius XI. The cupola was finished in 1969 and, on 11 November 1970, the ceremony for the 25th anniversary of the episcopate of Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens marked the completion of the construction of the Basilica.
The final design by architect Albert Van Huffel won the great architecture prize at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris.

Building

The building combines reinforced concrete with terracotta layering, bricks, and dimension stone. It is the largest building in Art Deco style in the world, at high and long. The central nave is long, and at its widest the building is. The cupola has a diameter of. The church accommodates 3,500 people. Belgian painter Anto Carte designed the eight stained glass windows representing the life of Jesus.
The Basilica contains two organs: a large 1959 modern choir organ and a 1965 classical choir organ in the crypt.

Panoramic view

The Basilica, on the Koekelberg Hill, is a landmark on the Brussels skyline. The cupola platform affords an excellent city panoramic view of Brussels and the wider area of Flemish-Brabant. Visitors can reach the platform either by stairs or by two elevators commissioned in the spring of 2012, in the form of a cage and two fully glazed cabins.

Trivia

This enormous building houses Catholic Church celebrations in both main Belgian national languages, as well as conferences, exhibitions, a restaurant, a Catholic radio station, a theatre and two museums.