St Michael and St Gudula

The Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula (Cathédrale Saint-Michel et Sainte-Gudule) is one of the most important landmarks in Brussels.

It was built in a Gothic style at the beginning of the thirteenth century on the foundations of a Romanesque church established in the eleventh century. The actual cathedral took 300 hundred years to complete. It is perfectly conserved because between 1983 and 1989 it was completely restored.

The Cathedral was initially called the church of St Michael until, in 1047, the relics of the martyr of St Gudula were brought to the church. The saint Gudula died in the eighth century. This is when the church was called St Michael and St Gudula. Although the cathedral was built centuries ago, it was only given the cathedral status in 1962.