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Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels

1905 in Belgium20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in BelgiumArt Deco architecture in BelgiumBasilica churches in BelgiumChurch buildings with domes
KoekelbergRoman Catholic churches completed in 1969Roman Catholic churches in BrusselsUse British English from October 2021
Basilica of the Sacred Heart
Basilica of the Sacred Heart

The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart (French: Basilique Nationale du Sacré-Cœur, Dutch: Nationale Basiliek van het Heilig-Hart) is a Roman Catholic Minor Basilica and parish church in Brussels, Belgium. The church is 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 finished only in 1969. Belonging to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels, it is one of the largest churches by area in the world. Located in the Parc Elisabeth atop the Koekelberg hill at the border between Brussels' Koekelberg and Ganshoren municipalities, the church is popularly known as the Koekelberg Basilica (French: Basilique de Koekelberg, Dutch: Basiliek van Koekelberg). The massive brick and reinforced concrete church features two thin towers and a green copper dome that rises 89 metres (292 ft) above ground, dominating Brussels' north-western skyline. It is served by Simonis metro station on lines 2 and 6 of the Brussels Metro.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels
Parvis de la Basilique - Basiliekvoorplein,

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 50.866666666667 ° E 4.3172222222222 °
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Address

Basilique du Sacré-Coeur - Basiliek van het Heilig Hart (Basilique de Koekelberg - Basiliek van Koekelberg)

Parvis de la Basilique - Basiliekvoorplein 1
1083
Belgium
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linkWikiData (Q846006)
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Basilica of the Sacred Heart
Basilica of the Sacred Heart
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Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
Molenbeek-Saint-Jean

Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (French, pronounced [molənbeːk sɛ̃ ʒɑ̃]) or Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (Dutch, pronounced [sɪɲˈcɑns ˈmoːlə(m)ˌbeːk] (listen)), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated by the Brussels–Charleroi Canal, as well as by the municipalities of Anderlecht, Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Dilbeek, Jette and Koekelberg. The Molenbeek brook, from which it takes its name, flows through the municipality. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). From its origins in the Middle Ages until the 18th century, Molenbeek was a rural village on the edge of Brussels, but around the turn of the 19th century, it experienced major growth brought on by a boom in commerce and manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution. Its prosperity declined after the Second World War, owing to deindustrialisation, leading to extensive investment and regeneration. Knowing a strong movement of immigration, mainly Moroccan, from the 1950s and 1960s, Molenbeek became increasingly multicultural with a minority Muslim population. In the early 21st century, it gained international attention as the base of Islamist terrorists who carried out attacks in both Paris and Brussels. Nowadays, it is a mostly residential municipality consisting of several historically and architecturally distinct districts.As of 1 January 2020, the municipality had a population of 97,979 inhabitants. The total area is 5.89 km2 (2.27 sq mi), which gives a population density of 16,314/km2 (42,250/sq mi), twice the average of Brussels. Its upper area is greener and less densely populated.

Simonis and Elisabeth stations
Simonis and Elisabeth stations

Simonis and Elisabeth are two interconnected stations on the Brussels Metro serving line 2 and line 6 on two different levels. Additionally Simonis is a railway station operated by NMBS/SNCB and a tram stop. The station complex is situated at the end of Boulevard Léopold II and is close to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Simonis was named after Place Eugène Simonis/Eugène Simonisplein, which in turn is named after the Belgian sculptor Eugène Simonis; while the nearby Elisabeth Park, named after Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium, gives Elisabeth its name. Simonis metro station opened on 6 October 1982 and is a through station in north–south direction situated in a cutting next to a railway line. It is served as a through station on line 6 and is a terminus of line 2. Elisabeth metro station is orthogonal to and one level below Simonis and is a terminal station located at the end of Boulevard Léopold II in east–west direction. It opened on 2 October 1988 and is the terminus for lines 2 and 6. Between its opening in 1988 and 2013, Elisabeth was also known as Simonis. Until 2009, Simonis was a simple interchange station between metro lines 1A and 2. When the Brussels metro loop opened in 2009, the north-western part of metro line 1A was connected to the other end of metro line 2, making line 2 an imperfect circle line (since a true circular train service is not possible, as the tracks at Simonis/Elisabeth are not connected). This resulted in the current situation, whereby the station complex is served twice by lines 2 and 6.To differentiate between the two station parts, the north–south through platforms were given the name Simonis (Leopold II), while the east–west terminating platforms were known as Simonis (Elisabeth). However, this did not improve the clarity of passenger information and thus, on 3 November 2013, Simonis (Leopold II) was reverted to simply Simonis, while Simonis (Elisabeth) became Elisabeth. The adjacent bus, tram and railway stops have not been renamed, and are all still known as Simonis. To the west of the stations, trams 9 and 19 call at underground platforms opened on 23 June 1986 (line 19) and 1 September 2018 (line 9), respectively. To the east of and parallel to Simonis metro station, the National Railway Company of Belgium operates a local commuter station Simonis since December 2009. It is served by the Brussels Regional Express Network service S10 between Dendermonde, Brussels, Denderleeuw and Aalst.