Detail of a stained glass window depicting Saint Rumbold at Saint Rumbold's Cathedral (1312) in Mechelen, Belgium
This is Mechelen's largest church and since 1559 the seat of the archbishop. The altar with the relics of Saint Rumbold, the city's patron saint, dominates this Gothic church. Though never finished, the tower boasts two carillons. Construction of the church itself started shortly after 1200, and it was consecrated in 1312, when part had become usable. From 1324 onwards the flying buttresses and revised choir structure acquired characteristics that would distinguish Brabantine Gothic from French Gothic. After the city fire of 1342, the Master Mason Jean d'Oisy managed repairs and continued this second phase, which by the time of his death in 1375 formed the prototype for that High Gothic style. His successors finished the vaults of the nave by 1437, and those of the choir by 1451. During the final phase of 1452-1520, the tower was erected, financed by pilgrims and later by its proprietor, the City. Designed to reach 600 Mechlinian feet or about 167 meters, higher than any church tower would ever attain. After a few years, in 1454, its chief architect Andries I Keldermans constructed the Saint Livinus' Monster Tower (or as it is called in Dutch) in Zierikzee (in the present-day Netherlands), where leaning or sagging of the tower (now 62 meters but designed for ca. 130) could wreck the church. This concern led to fully separate edifices, a solution also applied in Mechelen. At both places, in the early 16th century the upper part of the tower was abandoned, not for technical but for financial reasons. St-Rumbold's should have been topped by a 77-meter spire but only seven meters of this were built, hence the unusual shape. Saint Rumbold was an Irish or Scottish Christian missionary, although his true nationality is not known for certain. He was martyred near Mechelen by two men, whom he had denounced for their evil ways.
Size: 3840px × 5760px
Location: Saint Rumbold's Cathedral and Tower, Grand Place, Market Square, Mechelen, Flanders, Belgium, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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