Basiliek+van+het+Heilig+Hart+(Basilique+du+Sacre+Coeur)+(Basilica+Koekelberg)

=Brussels=

Basiliek van het Heilig Hart/Basilique du Sacre Coeur (Basilica Koekelberg)
National Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Dutch: Nationale Basiliek van het Heilig Hart and French: Basilique du Sacre Coeur is a Roman Catholic parish church in Brussels, Belgium. It is located on top of Koekelberg Hill and is known locally as Koekelberg Basilica. It was dedicated to the Sacred Heart and is a massive brick and concrete church. It has 2 thin towers and a green copper dome that is 292 feet off the ground.

King Leopold I wanted to turn Koekelberg Hill into a royal residential area in the mid 19th century. Unfortunately he died without realizing his vision. His successor, King Leopold II, in 1902 visited the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur of Paris and decided to build a church in Belgium that would stand as a national sanctuary that would be dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 1905 the first stone was laid during the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence. The foundation was laid but construction was halted due to the start of World War I. Because of the War, Cardinal Mercier gave the building of the church a new meaning in a letter he wrote in 1914. In a ceremony that had special authorization form Pope Pius XI, Cardinal Jozef-Ernest van Roey consecrated the unfinished church on October 14th, 1935. Architect Albert Van Huffel’s design saw the cupola completed in 1969 but the official ceremony on the Basilica’s completion wasn’t until November 11, 1970 during a 25th anniversary celebration for episcopate of Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens.

The Basilica has now become a landmark on the Brussels skyline. The church can hold up to 3500 people and can give one of the best panoramic views of Brussels. It is the largest Art Deco style building in the world reaching 292 feet high and 540 feet long. This makes it the fifth largest church in the world. The final architect, Albert Van Huffel, won an award at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris for its design. It also incorporates the art talents of Belgian painter Anto Carte who designed 8 of the stained glass windows that represent the life of Jesus.

Today the church not only holds celebrations in both Dutch and French but it also is large enough to house a restaurant, a radio station, a theater and 2 museums.