Related Books
Basilica of Our Lady of Hanswijk
(Mechelen, Belgium)
Mechelen (Malines in French) lies in the province of Antwerp, midway between the great port and Brussels. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Belgium, seat of the archdiocese since the sixteenth century. Here, in St. Rombaut’s Cathedral, lies buried one of the most famous Catholic churchmen of modern times: Cardinal Mercier, whose courage during World War 1 earned him the respect of the entire civilized world. And here between 1507 and 1530, at the close of the Burgundian epoch, Margaret of Austria kept a court frequented by such notable humanists as Erasmus and Thomas More, such painters as Mabuse and Van Orley, and such musician as Josquin des Pres.
Today incorporated with Mechelen, Hanswyck was once a hamlet on the river Dyle. Though the first reliable evidence for a special cult of the Virgin at Hanswyck comes to us from a Dominican who died in 1280, an older legend has it that around 988 a boat going down the Dyle suddenly stopped and nothing could make it go on.
Among the freight was a statue of the Virgin, and somebody had the idea of setting it on the bank. The boat was now suddenly able to move on, and the sailors and onlookers concluded that the Virgin Mary had chosen the site as a place of worship.
The statue was taken to an oratory nearby, and over the generations worshippers attributed prodigious powers to Our Lady of Hanswyck. Pilgrims began to make their way here in every-increasing numbers.
The present Basilica (for the sanctuary was raised to that dignity by his Holiness, Pope Pius XI, at the request of the late Cardinal Mercier) was designed by the architect and sculptor Luc Faid’herbe in the mid-seventeenth century. He was a disciple of Rubens, who designed other churches in this region and was responsible for the high altar of St. Rombaut’s Cathedral. There is a fine pulpit by another Mechelen craftsman, and the confessionals are also notable. The Basilica of Our Lady of Hanswyck is recognizable from afar by its Baroque dome.
SOurce: http://web.archive.org/web/20090620231205/http://www.visitbelgium.com/Shrines.htm
SOurce: http://web.archive.org/web/20090620231205/http://www.visitbelgium.com/Shrines.htm
History
In the hamlet Hanswijk, on the banks of the Dyle , stranded in the 10th century a loaded ship that was impossible to get ahead, until someone had the idea to bring the Our Lady image to the bank. Now the boat went again. They decided therefore that Maria spot wished to be honored.
The image was transferred to a nearby oratory dedicated to Lambert and Catherine .
The chapel soon became a place of pilgrimage. She was first, in 1263 , mentioned by Thomas Cantimpré , a Brabant Dominican of Cambrai .
Cardinal Victor-Augustus Dechamps crowned the picture on July 30, 1876, commissioned by Pope Pius IX .
The original statue disappeared in the 16th century. The current image, 1.45 m tall, is made of walnut. The curled braids fall down the back and partly before the shoulders. Mary holds a scepter in his right hand while wearing left the baby Jesus. It leans against the chest of the parent and holding an apple in the right hand.
The statue is in good condition and still bears traces of the old polychrome . In the back state the mark of a hitherto remained unknown artist: two interlocking triangles worked. The image of Mary is carried during the annual Hanswijk procession .
What to See
The present Baroque church was built mostly between 1663 and 1681 according to the plan of architect Lucas Faydherbe . The first stone was laid in 1663 by Archbishop Andreas Cruesen . It was inaugurated on May 30, 1678.
The rotunda has a diameter of 15.50 m; The dome is 34 meters high.
The church has a remarkable combination of long- and central building. The nave after the third span interrupted by a large roundabout where around two aisles are extended.
Due to the excessive pressure of the dome had to the architect strengthen the most sustaining columns. They were two and two connected by clevises and anchors. In order not to mar the interior they were coated with stucco . The deformation of the arches was hidden by an architectural decoration.
Busts of the Latin fathers crown the four porches. Of Ambrose and Augustine are Faydherbe Lucas; of Gregory and Jerome, from 1729, of the Mechelen sculptor Jan-Frans Boeckstuyns .
Above the columns of the rotunda brought the architect two large arches on relief from avendelsteen which fall under the cross of Jesus and the adoration of the shepherds proposals. These works were damaged in 1944.
The pulpit is the most beautiful ornament of the church. He was taken on May 4, 1743 for 4,000 guilders. Alexander Joseph Rubens , grandson of Peter Paul Rubens gave this 2,994 guilders.
The pulpit was executed in 1746 by the Mechelen sculptor Theodoor Verhaegen . Down propose two life-size statues Adam and Eve after the Fall for. Yahweh, an old man with a beard, speaks to Adam. With one hand he shows the serpent crawling on the ground and with the other hand he points to the medallion on the tub which Mary is depicted with the child. Forgiveness and redemption are promised here. Above the soundboard, Mary recorded by angels to heaven. A tall tree with wide branching, which also is incorporated carried by angels drapery, overshadowing the whole.
Source: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onze-Lieve-Vrouw_van_Hanswijk_(Mechelen)
Source: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onze-Lieve-Vrouw_van_Hanswijk_(Mechelen)
Basic Information
| Year consecrated: | 1681 |
| Ecclesiastical status: | --- |
| Architectural style: | Baroque |
| Address: | Mechelen Antwerp, Belgium |
| Coordinates: | 51.022222, 4.485278 |
| Website: | toerisme@mechelen.be |
| Phone: | 011 32 15/29 76 55 |
| Hours: | --- |
| Cost: | --- |
| Transportation: | --- |
| Lodging: |
Note: This information was accurate when first published and we do our best to keep it updated, but details such as opening hours can change without notice. To avoid disappointment, please check with the site directly before making a special trip.
#/media/File:Voorgevel_Hanswijk.jpg){kind=link}