COLLEGIATE STE-GERTRUDE
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The Collégiale Sainte-Gertrude, a building classified as an exceptional heritage site in Wallonia, is truly exceptional. Consecrated in 1046 by Emperor Henri III of the Holy Roman Empire, the building is one of the largest and oldest Romanesque churches in Europe, in the Rhineland Ottonian Romanesque style to be exact. Its majestic silhouette is distinguished by its clean lines and the overall balance of its forms. Only a few parts date from the end of the 12th century (southern gable of the east transept and western forebody) but they fit perfectly into the previously built ensemble. It is remarkable for its two transepts and its two choirs, opposite each other, in the manner of a Byzantine basilica. The Romanesque octagonal bell tower has 49 bells and two turrets. One of them (known as the Jean de Nivelles Tower) houses a 15th century copper jacquemart.
Under the main nave, a converted basement allows an archaeological visit, offering the discovery of the foundations of the five successive churches preceding the Romanesque construction, built from the 7th to the 10th century. There is talk of the beginnings of Christianity in the early Middle Ages! The first Merovingian church, built around 650, houses the burial vaults of the first religious community of the abbey of Nivelles. The last church erected by the Carolingians contains the tomb of Ermentrude, granddaughter of Hugues Capet. Finally, the cloister gives us a vague idea of what the imposing abbey complex might have been like.
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je conseille à tous la visite guidée de ce magnifique et très grand édifice