Notre-Dame Cathedral Luxembourg

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Cathedral of Notre-Dame

Notre-Dame Cathedral is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It was originally a Jesuit church, and its cornerstone was laid in 1613. It is the only
cathedral in Luxembourg.

The church is a noteworthy example of late gothic architecture; however, it also has many Renaissance elements and adornments. At the end of the 18th century, the church received the miraculous image of the Maria Consolatrix Afflictorum, the patron saint of both the city and the nation.

Around 50 years later, the church was consecrated as the Church of Our Lady and in 1870, it was elevated by Pope Pius IX to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.

The Towers 

The Cathedral has three towers, the west tower, which was the tower of the Jesuit church and which contains the bells, the east tower, and the central tower, which stands over the transept.

When the Cathedral was enlarged in 1935-1938, the east and central towers were added. The central tower, which is only a third of the height of the other towers, consists of a wide, pyramid-shaped base and a narrow peak covered with copper. The roof itself is carried by a steel frame, consisting of two PN20 beams from ARBED-Belval.


 

 Cathedral Repaired

On Good Friday, 5 April 1985, around mid-day, work on the roof caused the west tower to catch fire. The church bells, i.e. the Virgin Mary bell, the Willibrord bell, the Peter bell, and the Cunigunde bell were destroyed in the fire. When the tower collapsed, the roof of the central aisle was also partly damaged. It took until 17 October 1985 for the tower to be repaired.

The crypt of the Cathedral contains the remains of members of the Grand-Ducal family.  In particular, John of Bohemia (1296–1346), Marie-Adélaïde (1894–1924), Marie Anne of Portugal (1861–1942),  Felix of Bourbon-Parma (1893–1970),  Charlotte (1896–1985), and Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (1927–2005) are buried in the crypt.

Additional photos can be found on our Rhine & Moselle Shutterfly page:
 

Luxembourg Notre-Dame

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