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.
OLV-Hanswijkbasiliek
Northeast Belgium
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
13.87 MILES
This delightfully indulgent 1611 mansion was built as a home and studio for celebrated painter Pieter Paul Rubens. It was rescued from ruins in 1937 and…
14.16 MILES
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13.65 MILES
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14.06 MILES
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13.58 MILES
This 1899 former department store is an art nouveau showpiece with a black facade aswirl with wrought iron and arched windows. The building contains the…
13.2 MILES
Parc du Cinquantenaire was built during Léopold II's reign. It's best known for its cluster of museums – art, history, military and motor vehicles – which…
Institut des Sciences Naturelles
13.69 MILES
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13.52 MILES
Lace making has been one of Flanders’ finest crafts since the 16th century. While kloskant (bobbin lace) originated in Bruges, naaldkant (needlepoint lace…
Nearby Northeast Belgium attractions
0.29 MILES
This breathtakingly huge Brabantine Gothic church has suffered numerous reconstructions, notably after bombing during WWII. Nonetheless it retains a very…
0.43 MILES
Balancing the massive bulk of St-Romboutskathedraal across Mechelen's splendid Grote Markt is the contrastingly poetic stadhuis in all its devil-may-care…
0.45 MILES
The Schepenhuis is a small castle fantasy dating back to 1288. It became the council parliament for the Burgundian Netherlands from 1473.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
- placement: superzone
- path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
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