Church of Our Lady of Laeken
The Church of Our Lady of Laeken (French: Église Notre-Dame de Laeken; Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk van Laken) is a neo-Gothic Roman Catholic church in Laeken, Brussels. It was originally built in memory of Queen Louise-Marie, wife of King Leopold I to the design of architect Joseph Poelaert.
Louise-Marie died in Ostend in 1850 and wished to be buried in Laeken. The nearby Royal Castle of Laeken was, and still is, the royal residence. Leopold I wished the church to be constructed in her memory and as a mausoleum for her.
The young architect Joseph Poelaert was chosen to design the new church.[1] (He later became best known for the Law Courts of Brussels.)
The first stone was laid by Leopold I in 1854. The church was consecrated in 1872, but not completed until 1909 after a lengthy interruption of the work. The crypt holds the tombs of the Belgian royal family, including those of all the former Belgian kings. These tombs include:
- Leopold II of Belgium
- Baudouin of Belgium
- Elisabeth of Bavaria (1876–1965)
- Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant
- Prince Baudouin of Belgium
- Charlotte of Belgium, later known as Carlota of Mexico, empress consort of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico
The adjacent Laeken Cemetery behind the church is sometimes known as the "Belgian Père Lachaise" because it used to be the burial place of the rich and the famous.
[edit] References
- ^ "Notre Dame church of Laken in Brussels". http://www.trabel.com/brussel/brussels-ch-churchlaken.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
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