{"id":5577,"date":"2016-12-30T09:00:02","date_gmt":"2016-12-30T14:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=5577"},"modified":"2016-12-31T12:34:18","modified_gmt":"2016-12-31T17:34:18","slug":"the-church-and-the-tower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=5577","title":{"rendered":"The Church and the Tower"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2016 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

What if you woke up to this every day?<\/p>\n

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Visiting a friend in the Lower Town of Brussels, I was amazed when I looked out of her window and saw that this was her every-day view…the Gothic St. Catherine’s church!<\/p>\n

This beautiful church (also known as the Eglise Sainte-Catherine and Sint-Katelijnekerk) is located about a\u00a0ten minute walk\u00a0from the Grand Place. It was built on the site of the former fish market and today faces the site of a\u00a0regular market where you can find typical Belgian products such as seafood, cheese and local vegetables.<\/p>\n

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St. Catherine’s was originally built in the 15th century but completely redesigned between 1854 and 1859 by the famous artist Joseph Poelaert who was inspired by the \u00c9glise St Eustache in Paris.\u00a0 The only part left of the 15th century church is the Baroque tower which was added in 1629 and is located aside the church.<\/p>\n

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Clock tower from original structure<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The interior of the church contains many baroque artworks, including a small statue of the Black Madonna, dating back to the 14th century, at the left side of the altar.\u00a0 Other notable items are a Flemish pulpit and two beautiful tombs carved by Gilles-Lambert Godecharle and a portrait of Saint Catherine.<\/p>\n

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Flemish pulpit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"image\"After your visit to St. Catherine’s church is complete make sure to check out the Tour Noire (Black Tower)\u00a0located on the side of the NH\u00a0Hotel and diagonal from St. Catherine’s.\u00a0 This 12th century tower, still stands strong and is\u00a0the lone surviving part of the ancient\u00a0stone city walls.<\/p>\n

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St. Catherine’s Church<\/strong><\/p>\n