Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp)

Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp

Tower of the Cathedral of Our Lady

The Cathedral of Our Lady or Dutch Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal in Antwerp is the cathedral church of the diocese of Antwerp . The church is one of the highlights of Brabant architecture; its tower belongs since 1999 to the World Heritage of UNESCO .

history

Since the 10th century there has been a Lady Chapel on the site of today's cathedral. When the parish church of St. Michael was handed over to the Premonstratensians , the Marienkapelle was raised to the rank of parish church in 1124 and subsequently expanded into a larger, Romanesque church. In 1352, construction began on a new Gothic-style church with a central nave and six aisles, but construction was stopped in 1521. The church was badly damaged in a fire in 1533. In the period that followed, the Antwerp people rebuilt it.

In 1559 the diocese of Antwerp was founded and the church was elevated to a cathedral. On August 20, 1566, Calvinist iconoclasts destroyed a large part of the cathedral's works of art and furnishings. In 1581 Antwerp came under Protestant rule, which led to the further destruction and sale of priceless works of art.

As a result of the French Revolution , French occupation troops looted the building, which was temporarily used as a cattle shed and suffered severe damage. In the course of the following time the cathedral was changed several times (the tympanum of the main portal was not built until 1903). In 1965, the province of Antwerp began restoration work, which was largely completed in 1993.

architecture

Lantern over the crossing

The Cathedral of Our Lady is a seven-aisled building with a transept and a choir with radial chapels . Of the planned two-tower facade in the west, only the north tower was completed in the 16th century, which, however, is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture both with its height of 123 m and its filigree construction with a lantern . The crossing tower (like the tower of the Sint-Niklaaskerk in Ghent ) was designed as a lantern tower ; However, it was not completed and closed in the 17th century by a three-tier wooden dome construction . The slightly and almost floating-looking tracery octagon , which leads from the square cross-section of the crossing tower to the hood, is also noteworthy.

Furnishing

Four paintings by Peter Paul Rubens hang in the cathedral :

Erecting the Cross (1609–1610), panel 460 cm × 340 cm, side panel 460 cm × 150 cm. The work entered the cathedral in 1816.
Assumption of the Virgin Mary (1626), panel 490 cm × 325 cm. The picture was used as a replacement for an old altar.
The Resurrection of Christ (1612), central panel 138 cm × 98 cm, side panel 136 cm × 40 cm, a picture for the grave of the Plantin Moretus family from Antwerp.
The Descent from the Cross (1612), central panel 421 cm × 311 cm, side panel 421 cm × 153 cm, the picture was commissioned by the Rifle Guild and is one of Rubens' most famous paintings and at the same time one of the most important masterpieces of Baroque painting. (St. Christopher can be seen on the left outer wing ).

Other notable works:

A portrait of Francis of Assisi praying in a patched robe by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.
The neo-Gothic choir stalls by Karel Hendrik Geerts, richly decorated with figures .
A beautifully styled Madonna with the baby Jesus on her bent left arm escaped the Protestant iconoclasts.

Peter Paul Rubens : erecting the cross
The erection of the cross (detail)
Peter Paul Rubens: Descent from the Cross
The Descent from the Cross (detail), Rubens
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo : St. Francis praying
Choir stalls
' Beautiful Madonna ' with child (14th century)
Cathedral of Our Lady, heart
Cathedral of Our Lady, heart
Vertical panorama of the crossing

Organs

There are two large organs in the cathedral .

Main organ

The main organ was built in 1891 by the organ builder Pierre Schyven (Brussels), financed by a donation from a parishioner. The instrument has 90 stops on four manuals and a pedal and is largely preserved in its original condition.

I Positif Expressif C–
1.	Quintatos	16 ′
2.	Octave	8th'
3.	Flûte harmonique	8th'
4th	Bourdon	8th'
5.	Mélophones	8th'
6th	Viole	8th'
7th	Gemshorn	8th'
8th.	Prestant	4 ′
9.	Flute	4 ′
10.	Voix Angelique	8th'
11.	Clarinet	8th'
12.	Cor Anglais	8th'
13.	Quint	2 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
14th	Duplicate	2 '
15th	Larigot	1 ¹ ⁄ ₃  ′
16.	Fittings IV
17th	Ophicléïde	16 ′
18th	Trumpet harm.	8th'
19th	Cromhorn	8th'
20th	Clairon harm.	4 ′
	Tremolo

II Grand Orgue C–
21st	Montre	16 ′
22nd	Bourdon	16 ′
23.	Viol	16 ′
24.	Montre	8th'
25th	Flûte harm.	8th'
26th	Viole de gambe	8th'
27.	diapason	8th'
28.	Bourdon	8th'
29	Salicional	8th'
30th	Prestant	4 ′
31.	Mélophones	4 ′
32.	Flûte octaviante	4 ′
33.	Fifth	5 ¹ ⁄ ₃  ′
34.	Nazard	2 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
35.	Duplicate	2 ′
36.	Cornet V
37.	Fittings VI-VII
38.	Bombard	16 ′
39.	Trumpets	8th'
40.	Clairon	4 ′

III Récit Expressif C–
41.	Bourdon	16 ′
42.	Unda Maris	16 ′
43.	Flûte traversière	8th'
44.	diapason	8th'
45.	Violon	8th'
46.	Dolciana	8th'
47.	Voix Celeste	8th'
48.	Bourdon	8th'
49.	Flûte octaviante	4 ′
50.	Viol	4 ′
51.	Voix humaine	8th'
52.	Flageolet	2 ′
53.	Piccolo	1'
54.	Carillon II
55.	Plein jeu IV
56.	Basson	16 ′
57.	Trumpet harm.	8th'
58.	Basson hautbois	8th'
59.	Clairon harm.	4 ′
	Tremolo

IV Bombarde C–
60.	Flute	16 ′
61.	Principal	8th'
62.	Viol	8th'
63.	Big flûte	8th'
64.	Bourdon	8th'
65.	Flute	4 ′
66.	Prestant	4 ′
67.	Octavine	2 ′
68.	Gros Nazard	5 ¹ ⁄ ₃  ′
69.	Tierce	3 ¹ ⁄ ₅  ′
70.	Cymbals V – VI	2 ′
71.	Cornet V	8th'
72.	Bombard	16 ′
73.	Trumpets	8th'
74.	Clairon	4 ′

Pedale C–
75.	Contrebasse	32 ′
76.	Contrebasse	16 ′
77.	Quintaton	12 ′
78.	Sous-basse	16 ′
79.	Big flûte	8th'
80.	Octave basse	8th'
81.	Violoncello	8th'
82.	Flute	4 ′
83.	Octavine	4 ′
84.	Nazard	3 ′
85.	Fifth	5 ¹ ⁄ ₃  ′
86.	Contre-bombard	32 '
87.	Bombard	16 ′
88	Trumpets	8th'
89.	Trumpet fifth	6 ′
90.	Clairon	4 ′

Coupling : I / II, III / I, III / II, III / III (sub-octave coupling), IV / II, IV / IV (sub-octave coupling), Grand Orgue à la machine, I / P, II / P, III / P, IV / P
Playing aids : Forté général, Anches Positif, Anches Grand Orgue, Anches Récit, Anches Bombarde, Anches Pédale.

↑ ^a ^b resounding.

On the east wall of the south transept, directly at the crossing, hangs the transept organ as a swallow's nest organ . The instrument was built in 1993 by the Swiss organ builder Metzler. It has 44 sounding stops and a transmission on three manual works and a pedal.

I Rückpositiv C – f ³
Reed flute	8th'
Praestant I-II	4 '
Reed flute	4 '
Nasard	2 ² ⁄ ₃  '
Duplicate	2 '
third	1 ³ ⁄ ₅  '
Larigot	1 ¹ ⁄ ₃  '
Zimbel IV	1'
Cromorne	8th'
Tremulant

II Hauptwerk C – f ³
Preastant	16 '
Principal I-II	8th'
Hollow flute	8th'
Octave I-II	4 '
Pointed flute	4 '
Fifth	2 ² ⁄ ₃  '
Super octave	2 '
third	1 ³ ⁄ ₅  '
Mixture major IV-V	2 '
Mixture minor IV-V	1 ¹ ⁄ ₃  '
Cornet V (from c ¹ )	8th'
Trumpet	16 '
Trumpets	8th'
Clairon	4 '

III Oberwerk C – f ³
Bourdon	16 '
Preastant	8th'
Dumped	8th'
Quintad	8th'
Principal	4 '
Night horn	4 '
Nasard	2 ² ⁄ ₃  '
Octave	2 '
Forest flute	2 '
third	1 ³ ⁄ ₅  '
Sharp VI	1 ¹ ⁄ ₃  '
Trumpet	8th'
Vox humana	8th'
Tremulant

Pedals C – f ¹
Principal	16 '
Sub bass	16 '
Octavbass	8th'
Octave	4 '
Rauschpfeife V	2 '
Bombard	16 '
Trumpet	16 '
Trumpet	8th'
Clairon	4 '

Bell and carillon

In the 123-meter-high north tower there is a ringing of eight bells for liturgical services, the largest of which is the so-called Karolus . Due to the limited space in the bell cage , the two largest bells can only be rung separately; the full bell sounds without the second largest bell.

The following is an overview of the data on the liturgical bells:

No.	Surname	Casting year	Caster	Diameter (cm, approx.)	Mass (kg, approx.)	Strike tone (approx.)
1	Karolus	1507	Willem and Jaspar Moer ( 's-Hertogenbosch )	212	6,434	as ⁰
2	Henricus or Thomas	1770	Joris Du Mery ( Bruges )	177	4,200	b ⁰
3	Maria	1459	Johannes and Willem Hoerken ('s-Hertogenbosch)	164	3,000	c ¹
4th	Do-klok	1655	François and Pieter Hemony ( Amsterdam )	147	1,900	of the ^1st
5	Grote Lofklok	1655	François and Pieter Hemony (Amsterdam)	141	1,650	d ¹
6th	Small Lofklok	1655	François and Pieter Hemony (Amsterdam)	132	1,400	it ¹
7th		1957	Marcel Michiels ( Tournai )	94	600	as ¹
8th		1957	Marcel Michiels (Tournai)	82	450	b ¹