Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp)
The Cathedral of Our Lady is the largest Gothic church in Belgium and the seat of the Diocese of Antwerp, its single completed tower rising 123 metres to dominate the skyline of the old port city. Begun in 1352 and built over almost two centuries, the soaring building was conceived to be even grander, with a second tower that was never finished, leaving the cathedral with its distinctive asymmetrical silhouette.
The cathedral is famous above all for its paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, the great Antwerp master, whose monumental altarpieces, including "The Raising of the Cross" and "The Descent from the Cross," hang in the locations for which they were created in the seventeenth century. These works make the cathedral effectively a museum of Baroque art as well as a place of worship, and they feature memorably in the classic children's novel "A Dog of Flanders."
The airy white interior, vast and luminous, is filled with art, stained glass and richly carved furnishings, while the tower, a UNESCO-listed belfry, houses a celebrated carillon. Centuries of fires, iconoclasm and French revolutionary looting have left their mark, but the cathedral has always been restored, and it remains the proud spiritual and artistic heart of Antwerp.
- Location
- 51.2206, 4.4006
- Local time
- 00:37 (Europe/Brussels)
🕘 Visiting hours
| Mon–Fri | 10:00–17:00 |
| Sat | 10:00–15:00 |
| Sun | 13:00–17:00 |
Hours can change at short notice for liturgical celebrations.
✨ Saints & blessed venerated here
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Our Lady (Virgin Mary) Saint
Patron; 16th-c. venerated statue 'Our Lady of Antwerp' and Rubens's Assumption on the high altar.
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Saint Michael the Archangel Saint
Depicted in the cathedral's art and devotional program.
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Saint John the Evangelist Saint
Apostle depicted in major altarpiece and chapel imagery.
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Saint Christopher Saint
Outer panel of Rubens's Descent from the Cross, a guild commission.
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Saint Anne Saint
Honoured in a dedicated chapel among the cathedral's chapels.
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Saint Catherine of Alexandria Saint
Venerated in the cathedral's chapels and altar imagery.
Care & donations
Diocese of Antwerp / Cathedral of Our Lady
Admission fees and donations fund maintenance and art conservation
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