National Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Minor basilica in Koekelberg and Ganshoren, Belgium.
The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart combines Art Deco and Byzantine Revival styles with a copper dome rising 89 meters high and two tall reinforced concrete towers. The structure extends approximately 164 meters in length and 108 meters in width.
Leopold II laid the first stone in 1905, during celebrations of the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence, and the church was dedicated to the Sacred Heart after the Paris basilica. Construction was halted during both world wars and finished in 1969. Architects Pierre Langerock, Albert Van Huffel and Paul Rome worked on the Art Deco design, and at completion it was the fifth-largest church in the world.
The basilica is dedicated to the Sacred Heart and modelled on the Sacré-Cœur in Paris. Its name in Dutch, Nationale Basiliek van het Heilig-Hart, and in French, Basilique nationale du Sacré-Cœur, is used alongside the local name Koekelbergbasiliek, after the hill in Elisabeth Park where it stands. Mass is still held in the nave, whose stepped platform holds a raised altar beneath a canopy, a tall crucifix and candlesticks.
The dome's viewing platform is reached by stairs and a lift, and the climb demands reasonable fitness. The site also holds two museums, a restaurant, a theatre hall and a Catholic radio station. The basilica stands on Koekelberg hill inside Elisabeth Park, on the eastern side of Brussels.
The viewing platform on top of the dome offers a 360-degree view across Brussels and the Flemish Brabant region. This vantage point remains less crowded than other lookout spots in the city despite its rewarding panorama.
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