Notre-Dame de Brebières basilica
The Basilica Notre-Dame de Brebières ( German Our Lady of Brebières ) is a Roman Catholic church in the French parish of Albert . The Church of Our Lady in the Diocese of Amiens with the title of a minor basilica was built in the neo-Byzantine style at the end of the 19th century and is listed as a Monument Historique .
history
Albert has been a place of pilgrimage since the 12th century. The church was built next to the Ancre between 1885 and 1895 by the Picard architect Édmond Duthoit from brick and white stone and replaced the medieval parish church that had become too small. It has a 68 m high tower with a dome on top. On the dome is a statue of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus. The child's arms form the sign of the cross. Pope Leo XIII. wished the church would become the "Lourdes of the North" and in 1899 elevated it to the rank of minor basilica. In 1915 a German grenade hit the dome and detached the sculpture from its base, so that it tilted and remained hanging almost horizontally. As a result, a legend arose among the soldiers: "If the maiden falls, the war is over". A photo of the damaged basilica and its hanging statue of the Virgin Mary was sent around the world as a postcard by soldiers, which contributed to its world fame. The statue fell from the now German observation post on April 16, 1918, the circumstances are unclear. The church was rebuilt from 1927 to 1929 by Louis Duthoit, son of the original architect, after the destruction of World War I. A replica of the statue was also put up again.
The Somme 1916 Museum is right next to the basilica .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières on gcatholic.org
- ^ Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières, Albert. on picardie.fr
Coordinates: 50 ° 0 ′ 14 " N , 2 ° 38 ′ 53.3" E