Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Basiliek van het Heilig Hart / Basilique du Sacré Coeur / Basilica Koekelberg), Brussels, Belgium

Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Lin ChangChih/Wikimedia Commons (PD)

Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Basiliek van het Heilig Hart / Basilique du Sacré Coeur / Basilica Koekelberg), Parvis de la Basilique-Basiliekvoorplein. The fifth biggest church in the world, with an impressive interior and an amazing view over Brussels and its surroundings.

Located in the Parc Elisabeth atop the Koekelberg Hill in Brussels' Koekelberg municipality, the church is popularly known as the Koekelberg Basilica. The massive brick and concrete reinforced church features two thin towers and a green copper dome that rises 89 metres (292 ft) above the ground, dominating the northwestern skyline of Brussels.

The church is a landmark on the Brussels skyline. It is the largest building in Art Deco style in the world, at 89 m (292 ft) high and 164.5 m (540 ft) long (outside length). The cupola platform affords an excellent city panoramic view of Brussels and the wider area of Flemish-Brabant.

Visitors can reach the platform either by stairs or by two elevators commissioned in the spring of 2012, in the form of a cage and two fully glazed cabins. The central nave is 141 m (463 ft) long, and at its widest the building is 107 m (351 ft). The cupola has a diameter of 33 m (108 ft). The church accommodates 3,500 people.

Inside the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels. Photo: Niels Mickers/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0 nl)

The building combines reinforced concrete with terracotta layering, bricks, and dimension stone. Belgian painter Anto Carte (1886–1954) designed the eight stained glass windows representing the life of Jesus.

It is served by the metro station Simonis on lines 2 and 6 of the Brussels metro. (Wikipedia)

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