Antwerp - Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal

The "Cathedral of Our Lady" (= "Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal") is the see of the Diocese of Antwerp. The building of the cathedral started in 1352 and the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, when the church got consecrated.

In 1533 the new church caught fire and got severyl damaged. Protestants raided the church in 1566. Many treasures, that had survived the iconoclastic fever got removed and sold, when Antwerp came under Protestant administration in 1581.

After French revolutionaries conquered Anwerp 1794, the church was used as a stable. In 1798 the French administration intended to demolish the building.

Time changed and within the 19th century the church was restored and refurnished. The cathedral´s spire is 123 metres high!