Cathedral Facade, Antwerp
Antwerp's magnificent late flamboyant gothic Cathedral of Our Lady dominates the old heart of the City with it's soaring north west steeple.
The original design of the west facade called for two identical towers, but the southern one never made it much further above the roof level of the church, and remains unfinished to this day, allowing the eye to concentrate more on it's taller sibling without competition.
Further grandiose schemes were envisaged for enlarging the (already large) church in the 1520s, even though a century of building work on the cathedral was just about concluding. However, such ideas were laid to rest after a devastating fire ripped through the building in 1533, causing much internal damage to the stonework (much of which was subsequently patched up with plaster and not fully restored until 1983!)
The religious turmoil of the 16th entury also wrought havok on the cathedral's furnishings, thus the most important relics within now are several altar paintings by local 17th century master artist, Peter Paul Rubens.
I hoped we would still have some time to explore the interior of the Cathedral, but alas we had barely got through the door only to find it was closing to visitors, owing to the start of the Sunday evening mass.
We had to be content with glimpses of the nave arcades and south aisle from the modern glazed inner porch and the former chapel below the south tower, now housing the bookshop.
I don't seem to have much luck getting into Belgian cathedrals, the timing always ends up being completely wrong. As with Liege Cathedral the previous evening I was left with that unsatisfying feeling of having made an effort to get somewhere but leaving in the knowledge that 'unfinished business' would call me back!
Cathedral Facade, Antwerp
Antwerp's magnificent late flamboyant gothic Cathedral of Our Lady dominates the old heart of the City with it's soaring north west steeple.
The original design of the west facade called for two identical towers, but the southern one never made it much further above the roof level of the church, and remains unfinished to this day, allowing the eye to concentrate more on it's taller sibling without competition.
Further grandiose schemes were envisaged for enlarging the (already large) church in the 1520s, even though a century of building work on the cathedral was just about concluding. However, such ideas were laid to rest after a devastating fire ripped through the building in 1533, causing much internal damage to the stonework (much of which was subsequently patched up with plaster and not fully restored until 1983!)
The religious turmoil of the 16th entury also wrought havok on the cathedral's furnishings, thus the most important relics within now are several altar paintings by local 17th century master artist, Peter Paul Rubens.
I hoped we would still have some time to explore the interior of the Cathedral, but alas we had barely got through the door only to find it was closing to visitors, owing to the start of the Sunday evening mass.
We had to be content with glimpses of the nave arcades and south aisle from the modern glazed inner porch and the former chapel below the south tower, now housing the bookshop.
I don't seem to have much luck getting into Belgian cathedrals, the timing always ends up being completely wrong. As with Liege Cathedral the previous evening I was left with that unsatisfying feeling of having made an effort to get somewhere but leaving in the knowledge that 'unfinished business' would call me back!