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Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula

Brussels Cathedral stands on the Sainte-Gudule esplanade, in the centre of the city. A chapel occupied the site from the 9th century; in the 11th a Romanesque church replaced it, and in 1226 Duke Henry II of Brabant commissioned the Gothic collegiate church. The choir was built between 1226 and 1276 and the two towers, about 64 metres tall and without spires, between 1470 and 1485. The interior is notable for Brabantine Gothic, with stained glass from the 16th and 17th centuries; the Last Judgement window, on the west facade, dates from the 16th century, and Bernard van Orley drew those of the transepts. The Baroque pulpit, by Hendrik Frans Verbruggen, was finished in 1699 and at its base shows Adam and Eve after the fall. The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament of the Miracle, from 1534 to 1539, holds the treasury, with the Drahmal reliquary cross. The excavations of 1983 to 1999 uncovered remains of the Romanesque church and a crypt under the choir.

Things to do at Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula: 4 missions

• Photograph the two towers from the esplanadeFrom the Sainte-Gudule esplanade, frame the façade with its two towers without spires.
• Visit the treasury and look for the Drahmal crossPay the entrance fee for the treasury, in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, and look for the Drahmal reliquary cross among the pieces on display.
• Look for Adam and Eve on the Baroque pulpitFind Verbruggen's pulpit and look at its base, where Adam and Eve appear after the Fall, and at the top the Virgin with the Child above the serpent.
• Look at the Last Judgement stained glassWalk into the nave and look towards the west façade to see the great stained-glass window of the Last Judgement.

Near Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula

Source: Web oficial - Catedral de Bruselas