Koekelberg Basilica (National Basilica of the Sacred Heart)
A church started in 1905, interrupted by two world wars, and finished only in 1970 — now the largest in Belgium and the 17th largest by area on earth.
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The Art Deco neo-Byzantine shell of brick and reinforced concrete reads nothing like a Gothic cathedral. Leopold II originally wanted a French-style Panthéon for great Belgians here; what was built instead dominates Brussels' north-western skyline with a green copper dome at 89 metres.
What to look for
- The green copper dome rising 89 metres — nearly as tall as the two flanking towers on either side
- The brick-and-concrete exterior: an industrial palette applied to a church of near-record scale
- The two wide avenues beside the basilica — Avenue du Panthéon and Avenue des Gloires Nationales — laid out for the Panthéon that Leopold II abandoned before the church took its place
Take tram line 9 to stop Bossaert-Basilique/Bossaert-Basiliek, at the head of Elisabeth Park on the Koekelberg Plateau.
Koekelberg Basilica (National Basilica of the Sacred Heart) is one of 33 sights worth the detour in Brussels, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Brussels pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Brussels
- Manneken PisA 55.5 cm bronze boy that somehow became the face of an entire country — the joke is entirely intentional.
- Grand-PlaceEvery guildhall surrounding you was rebuilt from rubble — French artillery levelled the square in 1695, and the Town Hall tower survived only because it was the gunners' aiming point.
- AtomiumNine stainless-steel spheres arranged as an iron crystal blown up 165 billion times — built to headline a World's Fair and never taken down.
- Stoclet PalaceA UNESCO World Heritage house you can only see from the pavement — by design, and by the owner's choice.
- King Baudouin StadiumInaugurated for Belgium's 100th birthday in 1930, this 70,000-seat bowl on the Heysel Plateau hosted six European finals — and the night football changed forever.
- Cathedral of St. Michael and St. GudulaBelgium's national church began as a chapel on a trade-route crossroads in the 9th century — eleven centuries of building decisions are now stacked on a hill called "Mount of Sorrow."