“Apartments. Really?” someone mutters. “I thought this tour was about the Basilica.” Well let me tell you why we are standing in front of Résidence Basilique. Sometimes the most interesting stories are not about what is obvious but about what is hidden in plain sight.
Résidence Basilique stands here today. It is a modern apartment building. But it is impossible to separate its story from that of the imposing basilica that looms nearby. We cannot ignore the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Its presence has shaped this area profoundly.
King Leopold II envisioned a Belgian Panthéon here. It would be dedicated to Great Belgians. However, this idea didn’t resonate with the public. So, Leopold II visited Paris. He saw the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. Inspired he decided Brussels needed a similar pilgrimage church. It would be a national sanctuary dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The King acquired land on Koekelberg Hill. He then commissioned Pierre Langerock to design a neo-Gothic basilica. Imagine a towering structure. It would bristle with six towers some reaching over 100 meters. Leopold II laid the first stone in 1905. This was during the 75th-anniversary celebrations of Belgian independence.
Construction began in 1909. However progress soon faced many problems. The King died. Financing became difficult. World War I broke out. Cardinal Mercier reframed the basilica’s purpose. He declared it would crown the reconstruction of a free and Catholic Belgium.
After the war, Langerock’s neo-Gothic design proved too expensive. Albert Van Huffel a Ghent architect then proposed an Art Deco design. This new plan won a prize at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925.
Work restarted in 1926 adapting the existing foundations. Construction continued halting during World War II. It finally concluded in 1970. The basilica is one of the largest Art Deco buildings. It can accommodate 3500 people.
Now look around you. Note the scale of everything. Imagine living here in the Résidence Basilique. You would be in the shadow of this massive church. You are a part of a story that stretches back over a century.
From royal dreams to architectural shifts the Résidence Basilique and the basilica stand side by side. They represent Brussels’ blend of history and modern life. It is a reminder that even everyday places have extraordinary stories. They are waiting to be discovered.