OLV-Hanswijkbasiliek

Northeast Belgium


This dome-crowned three-wing basilica has an unusual circular interior, a superb Paradise Lost pulpit and brilliant 1690 carved confessionals. An octagonal floor stone commemorates the pope’s 1985 visit. But its main treasure is the 'miraculous' Hanswijk Madonna statuette dating from 988, long an object of pilgrimage and still the centrepiece of Mechelen’s greatest religious pageant.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Northeast Belgium attractions

1. OLV-over-de-Dijle

0.29 MILES

This breathtakingly huge Brabantine Gothic church has suffered numerous reconstructions, notably after bombing during WWII. Nonetheless it retains a very…

2. Stadhuis

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Balancing the massive bulk of St-Romboutskathedraal across Mechelen's splendid Grote Markt is the contrastingly poetic stadhuis in all its devil-may-care…

3. Schepenhuis

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The Schepenhuis is a small castle fantasy dating back to 1288. It became the council parliament for the Burgundian Netherlands from 1473.

4. Mechelen Gerechtsgebouw

0.45 MILES

The city’s step-gabled courthouse was once Margaret of Austria's palace (from 1506). Despite many subsequent alterations, it maintains a gorgeous…

5. St-Petrus & Pauluskerk

0.46 MILES

Dating from 1677, this fine church has a very spacious feel, with two rows of whitewashed Corinthian columns and an elegant altarpiece of pale grey marble…

6. Brusselpoort

0.5 MILES

By the late 18th century, medieval city walls had become redundant and Mechelen's were torn down to create the space where the R12 inner ring road now…

7. St-Romboutskathedraal

0.54 MILES

This soaring, Gothic-vaulted cathedral features a 1723 monumental pulpit, a 1630 Van Dyck crucifixion scene in the south transept, and dozens more fine…

8. Op-Sinjoorke Statue

0.59 MILES

Landing on his back with limbs akimbo, the giant yellow character that you see in the grassy contoured space north of St-Romboutskathedraal is Op…

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