Notre Dame Cathedral of Tournai, Belgium

Notre Dame Cathedral, Tournai, Belgium
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tournai_JPG000c.jpg
Author: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT


The Notre Dame Cathedral of Tournai, also known as Our Lady of Flanders' Cathedral of Tournai or Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Tournai, is a fabulous Roman Catholic cathedral in Tournai, Belgium, that is recognised as a World Heritage Site.

The Notre Dame Cathedral was inscribed during the 24th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Cains, Australia from 27 November to 2 December 2000. The reason for the inscription is because the cathedral is an outstanding example of the exchange of influence between the architecture of the Ile de France, the Rhineland and Normandy, during the brief period at the beginning of the 12th century, before the development of the Gothic architectural style. It is also regarded as an outstanding example of imposing edifices of the style of the north of the Seine, before the arrival of the Gothic cathedral style.

Notre Dame Cathedral, Tournai, Belgium
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tournai_JPG001.jpg
Author: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT

What to See in Notre Dame Cathedral, Tournai

The Notre Dame Cathedral of Tournai was built in the 12th century, on the foundation of an even older structure. The cathedral compines the design from three distinct periods. The nave is in the Romanesque style, the transept in in the Transitional style while the choir is in the fully developed Gothic. The transept, with its five bell towers and apsidal, forms the most distinctive part of the structure.

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 50 36 21.7 E 3 23 21.3
Inscription Year: 2000
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: II, IV

Getting there

Take expressway E19 south of Brussels until Exit 21 near Halle, and continue on Expressway E429 until Tournai.

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