St. Nicholas Church

Brussels, Belgium

The Église St-Nicolas is a delightful little church behind the Bourse in Brussels. It is surrounded by fine old houses that seem to huddle under it.

This small church is almost 1,000 years old, but little remains of the original structure. Its 11th-century Romanesque lines are hidden by a 14th-century Gothic facade and the repairs made after the French bombardment of 1695. A cannonball fired by the French in 1695 is still lodged in one of the pillars.

The church holds a small painting by Rubens of The Virgin and Child and the Vladimir Icon painted by an artist from Constantinople in 1131.Église St-Nicolas

Religious sites in Belgium

Address

Korte Boterstraat 9, Brussels, Belgium

See all sites in Brussels

Details

Founded: 14th century
Category: Religious sites in Belgium

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

La Grand-Place (0,1 km)
Brussels Town Hall (0,2 km)
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (0,8 km)
Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg (0,9 km)
Royal Palace of Brussels (1 km)
Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon (0,9 km)
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula (0,6 km)
Chapel Church (0,7 km)
Church of Saint John the Baptist (0,5 km)

Antwerp City Hall (41,6 km)
Cathedral of Our Lady (41,5 km)
Leuven Town Hall (24,8 km)
St. Peter's Church (24,8 km)
Rubenshuis (41,2 km)
St. Rumbold's Cathedral (22 km)
Lion's Mound (19,2 km)
Het Steen (41,8 km)
Mechelen Town Hall (22 km)

User Reviews

Mas Hassan (14 months ago)
Yet another historic place of worship reasonably well looked after with a friendly priest taking confessions in one corner room of the church.

esther Afrakomah (15 months ago)
Very good place to visit and to pray for your daily life with God

Francisco Javier Terrés Belmonte (15 months ago)
Catholic Church, beautiful, peaceful and in the center of Brussels.

Alastair Wood (16 months ago)
Beautiful interior, friendly and a very moving service.

Mike773 U (16 months ago)
30/04/22: having been to Brussels 4 times, it is only in the last few years that I have documented places I've visited, as a part of my Google legacy. This time in Brussels I was celebrating my Stag Do with 18 friends. Eglise St. Nicolas (French) or Sint Nikolaaskerk (Dutch) is situated very close to Grand Place. It is one of the oldest churches in Brussels and is named after the Patron Saint of Traders. It dates back to the 12th Century and hosts a painting of the Virgin, by Rubens. Outside is a beautiful statue and a drinking fountain.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright joiseyshowaa

Historic Site of the week

Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.