Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, built between 1226 and 1519 in pure Gothic style. The cathedral was first founded as a collegiate church in 1047 in order to recover the relics of Saint Gudule hitherto kept in the church of Saint-Géry (destroyed during the French Revolution). It was only in 1962 that Brussels, until then dependent on the Archbishopric of Mechelen, was associated with this episcopal see under the title of Diocese of Mechelen-Brussels. Thus the collegiate church was promoted to the rank of cocathedral.

The church of the Gesu was built in the 19th century and is now desacralized. From 1860 to 1865, Louis Pavot built a neo-gothic church for the neighbouring Jesuit community. Between 1937 and 1939, the church was enlarged with a façade on rue Royale, as the neo-gothic church is no longer visible from the street. The new brick façade was designed by the architect Antoine Courtens with a bell tower in a distinctly Art Deco style, while the entrance portal, with a wide arch, a tympanum and statues of the twelve apostles and surmounted by a rose window, retains a soberly traditional style.

The Church of Our Lady of the Chapel (Kapellekerk) was founded in the 12th century as a chapel of a Benedictine priory and was transformed into a church in the 13th century. Damaged by a fire in 1475, the church was rebuilt in Flamboyant Gothic and got its baroque tower at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. From 1989 to 1996, the church underwent major restoration work. Today the Chapel Church is the parish church of the Polish Catholic community in Brussels.

The Royal Church of St. Mary was built from 1845 to 1888 in the Romano-Byzantine style. The architect of the church, Louis van Overstraeten, was inspired in his design by the octagonal basilica of St. Vital in Ravenna (Italy). Deteriorating rapidly after the war, the Royal Church of St. Mary was closed to the public in 1966 because it was considered too dangerous. The church was saved by the "Friends of St. Mary's Church" association, which obtained its classification as a historical monument in 1976. After 14 years of renovation, the church was reopened to the public in 1996.

The Antoinist church on Boulevard Guillaume Van Haelen was built in an eclectic style in 1915 by the architect Charles Rifflart. The Antinista cult is a Christian-inspired healing cult founded in 1910 by Louis-Joseph Antoine (1846-1912) in the province of Liège. It is characterised by simple rites. It is the only religion born in Belgium and whose fame and success has spread beyond the borders. The Antoinist church of Forest was desecrated in 2016 and now hosts exhibitions and other events.

In 1623, Archduchess Isabella granted the order of Brigitte the right to settle in Brussels. In 1637, the Confrérie des Brigittines, originally from Dendermonde, bought a property on the site of the present rue des Brigittines. In 1663, they built a convent with a chapel, designed by the architect Léon Van Heil in the Italian-Flemish Renaissance style. During the bombardment of 1695, which reduced most of Brussels to ashes, the building suffered little damage. However, in 1784, Joseph II put an end to the religious vocation of the building. Disused as a religious monument from 1783 to 1920, the chapel was put up for public sale. The City of Brussels acquired it two years later and, thanks to a successful restoration, saved it from almost two centuries of setbacks and various uses. A contemporary extension to the chapel was inaugurated in 2007.

The church of Saint-Denis is a religious building whose oldest foundations date back to the 11th century, around the time of the founding of the village of Forest. The present building, which includes the sanctuary dedicated to Saint Alène, dates from the 13th century and is in Gothic style. The bell tower was raised by two floors in the 18th century. In 1925-1926, an important restoration of the ensemble was carried out by Chrétien Veraart, restoring to the building a luminosity that it had lost.

Saint-Servais church is a neo-gothic church built between 1871 and 1876. The construction was based on the plans of the architect Gustave Hansotte. The old Saint-Servais church, located below, at the level of the monumental vase on the Avenue Louis Bertrand, was only demolished in 1905. This former church, in Gothic style, was the heart of the village of Schaerbeek. The two churches coexisted for some thirty years.

This church, consecrated to St. Anthony of Padua was completed in 1897. The Neo-Gothic style building was built in two stages.

The Church of St. Nicholas in Brussels, built around 1125, is one of the first churches in Brussels and the best preserved in its successive modifications. Of the original Romanesque style church, some remains remain in the entrance porch, discovered during the reconstruction of the façade in 1956. This Romanesque style building had a tower that housed the city's bells and was therefore the bell tower of Brussels. Destroyed by a storm in 1367, it was immediately rebuilt. The church was closed in 1797 and sold in 1799. Almost demolished, it was finally returned to worship in 1804.