9. Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, Brussels - 10 Sept 1900 | Glass Plates
Although listed as simply a cathedral by the photographer in 1900, it was not officially designated as such until 1962 (at the time it was a collegiate church).
Today known as the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, construction for this monumental Brabantine Gothic church began in 1226 under Henry I, Duke of Brabant (1165-1235). Due to its ambitious size and intricate masonry, it took nearly three centuries to complete, with work concluded in 1519.
The photograph above shows a street scene looking towards the church. Judging by the scaffolding, the north tower was undergoing restoration in the summer of 1900. Tram tracks dissect the cobbled street, and in the distance some horse drawn carriages can be made out. In the foreground, to the right of frame, a gentleman wearing a bowler hat has blurred while walking across as the photo was exposed. Another man, in the centre of the street, seems to be looking towards the camera as he walks.
Today this view is quite different from how it appears in photograph because, while the Cathedral stands as it has for many centuries, the street itself didn’t last one…
The Raised then Razed Rue Sainte-Gudule
The street seen in the photograph was a popular shopping district laid out in 1873. Judging by the photograph, it was full of shops that did not lack for patrons. Nevertheless, the street was demolished in 1948 during a period of modernisation so that the North-South connection railway tunnel could be constructed.
If you were to visit the spot where the photographer set up his camera today – well, you’d be standing in the middle of quite a busy road. But if you were to step forward out of the road to where this street once was, you will find a peaceful little forecourt full of young trees.
It will become a very pretty park soon enough.
Onwards to Antwerp?
The list gets a little jumbled over the next few photographs. As you will see, we move to Glass Plate 10 in Antwerp and then jump back to Brussels for the following two due to their locations being listed incorrectly. Such mistakes are perfectly understandable, reflecting the fact that when the list was written it was likely a little after the photographer returned home from his journey, and he was just working from the image and his memory.
In any case, I hope you will join me for an examination of the next glass plate, next week.
References
‘History’, Cathedralis Bruxellensis Website <https://www.cathedralisbruxellensis.be/en/history/>
1900 Glass Plates: This project explores a series of glass plates from the year 1900 with the eventual goal of travelling the same route as the photographer. It will be a varied journey that will stretch from simple blog posts examining each photo to videos and more. This project is in collaboration with photographer Aleksandar Nenad Zecevic, who’ll be restoring the photographs to bring out details dimmed by time. More to follow.
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