The Blog

Brussels, just like most European cities, is full of countless cathedrals and places of worship that serve as a reminder of Europe's very religious history that seems to slowly dwindle away leaving only these large, unavoidable buildings to serve as reminders. I love these cathedrals and love wandering into them to see the interior. I always like to think how much money, work, and devotion had to go into making such a place. To think of the poor who may have gave a few of their pennies in order to have a place of shelter to pray, a building that might increase their faith when they pray to God to provide for them. Were these cathedrals really about the religion they supposedly housed or were they more statements of certain people who wanted to prove what man could build? Religion is passing out of style in Europe and the cathedrals become older and older with cold chairs and just a few lit candles. They are filled with tourists and their cameras and it seems only little areas are partitioned off for the seriously religions to pray in.

The first picture is of the Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral, which is my favorite in Brussels, the second one is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart which I don't find very appealing. The first cathedral is very traditional with it's stained class windows and intricately carved alter pieces. The other is a more modern approach that felt to me like an uninviting Catholic girls' school. Perhaps the second was attempting to create more of an artistic statement than the first choosing to use an Art Deco approach on the interior. You can probably guess which the last picture belongs to out of the two...