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

User Reviews

Mas Hassan (7 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 (8 months ago)
Very good place to visit and to pray for your daily life with God

Francisco Javier Terrés Belmonte (8 months ago)
Catholic Church, beautiful, peaceful and in the center of Brussels.

Alastair Wood (9 months ago)
Beautiful interior, friendly and a very moving service.

Mike773 U (9 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 jadwiga.ws

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Tyniec Abbey

Tyniec Benedictine abbey was founded by King Casimir the Restorer probably around 1044. Casimir decided to rebuild the newly established Kingdom of Poland, after a Pagan rebellion and a disastrous Czech raid of Duke Bretislaus I (1039). The Benedictines, invited to Tyniec by the King, were tasked with restoring order as well as cementing the position of the State and the Church. First Tyniec Abbot was Aaron, who became the Bishop of Kraków. Since there is no conclusive evidence to support the foundation date as 1040, some historians claim that the abbey was founded by Casimir the Restorer’ son, King Boleslaw II the Generous.

In the second half of the 11th century, a complex of Romanesque buildings was completed, consisting of a basilica and the abbey. In the 14th century, it was destroyed in Tatar and Czech raids, and in the 15th century it was rebuilt in Gothic style. Further remodelings took place in the 17th and 18th centuries, first in Baroque, then in Rococo style. The abbey was partly destroyed in the Swedish invasion of Poland, and soon afterwards was rebuilt, with a new library. Further destruction took place during the Bar Confederation, when Polish rebels turned the abbey into their fortress.

In 1816, Austrian authorities liquidated the abbey, and in 1821-1826, it was the seat of the Bishop of Tyniec, Grzegorz Tomasz Ziegler. The monks, however, did not return to the abbey until 1939, and in 1947, remodelling of the neglected complex was initiated. In 1968, the Church of St. Peter and Paul was once again named the seat of the abbot. The church itself consists of a Gothic presbytery and a Baroque main nave. Several altars were created by an 18th-century Italian sculptor Francesco Placidi. The church also has a late Baroque pulpit by Franciszek Jozef Mangoldt.

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