Introduction
Understanding the place
Scherpenheuvel, Montaigu in French, is Belgium's main Marian pilgrimage and a rare example of a city organised around a central basilica.
To be retained
- Principal Belgian Marian pilgrimage
- Baroque Basilica
- Urban plan centered
- Devotion still alive
History and context
The devotion develops around a small image of Mary placed in an oak. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Archducs Albert and Isabelle support the construction of a monumental church designed by Wenceslas Cobergher. The heptagonal plan of the city and sanctuary expresses the religious program of the Counter-Reform.
Why is this place spiritual?
The basilica hosts processions, novenas and parish pilgrimages. The tree, the Virgin and the number seven form a symbolic Catholic language that must be distinguished from a universal energy geometry.
What the landscape makes you feel
The streets converge towards the dome, giving the movement a very legible direction. Inside, the baroque combines images, light and movement.
Energy, atmosphere and feelings
Urban centrality can give the impression that the whole place radiates. It is first the result of an architectural and devotional project.
Discover with respect
- Respect pilgrimages and celebrations.
- Present miraculous narratives as traditions of faith.
- To distinguish symbolic from seven and energetic proof.
Sources
