The Gothic Church

In the 12th century, the Romanesque style gave way to a new style: the Gothic style. In 1140, Abbot Suger of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, north of Paris, lamented the dark character of Romanesque churches and wanted to introduce more windows to let in more light.

The Gothic style was born, celebrating that “God is light” and reminding people that divine light illuminates all creation.

In 1226, Duke Henry I of Brabant undertook the transformation of the Romanesque collegiate church into a church two and a half times larger, built in the Gothic style. Ribbed vaults are one of the main characteristics of the Gothic style.

Outside, on both sides of the nave, flying buttresses and buttresses support the lateral pressure of the roof as well as the vaults. Thanks to this daring technique, it was possible to build higher, create more space, and increase the light intake through much larger stained glass windows.

The old Romanesque church was used as scaffolding for the construction of the Gothic church. Many natural stones were then reused to build the choir of the cathedral.

The construction took place in several phases and lasted more than two hundred and fifty years. Apart from a few transformations, the new church was completed in 1480.

The cathedral was therefore under construction for almost three centuries. This gives it the privilege of reflecting the three consecutive phases of the Gothic style.

The early Gothic, visible in the choir, the radiant classical Gothic, visible in the nave and the transept, and the flamboyant late Gothic in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, in the front facade and the two towers.

After the 15th century, this architectural masterpiece underwent more transformations and additions, such as the two large chapels on either side of the choir.

Thanks to the in-depth restoration at the end of the last century, you can now visit and admire the cathedral in all its splendour, and discover what it is today, one of the jewels of Brabantine Gothic.