St. Michael and St.Gudula Cathedral

The St.Michael and St.Gudula Cathedral is an archiepiscopal cathedral, located at the Treurenberg in the capital of Belgium, Brussels. Currently the cathedral is under the administration of Cardinal Godfried Dannels, the Primate of Belgium.

Both the archangel St.Michael and the martyr St.Gudula are patron saints of the church and the city of Brussels.

Because of its location the St.Michael and St.Gudula Cathedral is a place which hosts many significant Catholic ceremonies such as royal marriages and state funerals. The Cathedral has been situated where it is now since the eleventh century.

Image by Luc Viatour

In 1047 by order of the Lambert II, Count of Leuven, the relics of Saint Gudula were transported from the Saint Gaugericus Church to the new church at Treurenberg hill, which put it as one of the leading places among the other churches in Brussels. Along with the transportation of the relics, the Lambert II also brought to the church a chapter of twelve canons.

First built in Romanesque style, the Cathedral was renovated in a Gothic Style in the thirteen century. Somewhere between 1226 and 1276 the cathedral’s choir was created. On its left side can be seen some glass-stained windows which are all depicted with portraits of kings and emperors such as Joao III of Portugal, Francois I of France, Louis of Hungary, Maximilian of Austria as well as Philip of Spain, Charles V, Philip the Beautiful and Ferdinand I.

In the middle of fifteen century the façade of the St.Michael and St.Gudula Cathedral was constructed.

The Cathedral has undergone constant restoration processes through all the 20th century until 1999 when, with the marriage of the Belgian Crown Prince Philippe, the restoration was finished.

The completion of the reconstruction of the Cathedral was also accompanied by another event which was the placing of the new high altar at the crossing of the transept. The three-ton stone altar was designed in light granite by the sculptor Michael Smolders. The altar represents the sacrificial table, a reminder of the last supper and the cross.

The St.Michael and St.Gudula Cathedral is open from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday and from 8:30am to 6pm, Saturday to Sunday.

Address:
St.Michael and St.Gudula Cathedral
Place Sainte-Gudule
1000 Brussels
Brussels
Belgium

Tel: +32 2217 8345

Find a trip to Brussels today at Expedia | Travelocity | Lastminute | Opodo