Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels

Brussels Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel and Saint Gudula. It was founded in 1226 on the site of the older Romanesque Church of the Archangel Michael (10th century). The Cathedral is built in the Gothic style, but it retains elements of the Romanesque style of the former Church.

Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel stands on the hill of Treurenberg between the Upper and Lower town. The construction of the Cathedral lasted for three hundred years and was completed only by the end of the 15th century. At the end of the 20th century, the Cathedral was restored and the darkened walls became white again.

The ancient Romanesque Church and Cathedral were dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. He is the main Archangel, revered not only in Christianity, but also in Judaism and Islam. Saint Michael the Archangel is the patron Saint of Brussels.

Saint Gudula is less well known, but she is also, like the Archangel Michael, the patron Saint of Brussels. The daughter of the Lorraine Duke Gudula, a Saint of the Catholic Church, lived in Brabant (modern Belgium) at the end of the 7th century. The relics of Saint Gudula were moved to the Cathedral of Brussels by the Duke of Lorraine Charles I. Since then, the main Church of Brussels has been called the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Gudula.

The main facade of St. Michael Cathedral is built in the classic Gothic style. Two rectangular towers are connected by a gallery with beautiful decorations. The height of the towers reaches 64 meters and each of them has stairs that allow climbing to the terraces and enjoying the views of Brussels.

The interior of the Cathedral is made in the Gothic style. The main nave of the Cathedral in the 17th century was decorated with sculptures of saints. The Cathedral has many beautiful stained glass windows. Some of them have been preserved since the Middle Ages. The oldest stained glass windows were made by Jan Huck in the 16th century. The Gothic choir houses the graves of the Dukes of Brabant, as well as Archduke Ernst of Austria.

There is a chapel of the Blessed Virgin in the Cathedral of St. Michael and Gudula. You can see there a Treasury (entrance to it is paid). The Gothic chapel was built in 1594. Nearby you can visit the archaeological zone, where you can see the foundations of an ancient Romanesque Church and buildings of the early middle ages.