Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels

The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart (, ) is a Roman Catholic Minor Basilica and parish church in Brussels. The church was dedicated to the Sacred Heart, inspired by the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in Paris. Symbolically King Leopold II laid the first stone of the basilica in 1905 during the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence. The construction was halted by the two World Wars and wasn't finished until 1969. Belonging to the Metropolitan Archbishopric of Mechelen-Brussels, it is one of the ten largest Roman Catholic church by area in the world.List of largest church buildings in the world

Located in the Parc Elisabeth atop the Koekelberg Hill in Brussels' Koekelberg municipality, the church is popularly known as the Koekelberg Basilica ( or ). The massive brick and concrete reinforced church features two thin towers and a green copper dome that rises above the ground, dominating the northwestern skyline of Brussels.

History

Mid-19th Century, King Leopold I dreamed of turning the uninhabited Koekelberg hill into a royal residence area. After his death, just before 1880, King Leopold II envisaged building a Belgian Panthéon dedicated to Great Belgians, inspired by the French Panthéon in Paris, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence. The King dropped this project due to the lack of enthusiasm of the Belgian population. In 1902, King Leopold II visited the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur of Paris and decided...
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