St. Rumbolds Cathedral

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Image:Mechelen Sint-Rombouts.JPG

St. Rumbolds Cathedral is the cathedral of Mechelen in Belgium.

The flat-topped silhouette of the cathedral is easily recognizable and dominates the surroundings. This never-completed monument is 97.28 metres high and has 514 stairs which are visited by thousands of tourists every year. The tower counts 49 bells, each of them with its own name. Some of the most notable are Salvator, which weighs 8884 kilograms; Jehsus, which was built in 1460; and the Liberation, which was the newest addition in 1947. Thirty-nine stairs above this set of bells - also called a carillon - there is a second complete carillon on which concerts are played during the summer months. The total weight of both these carillons is over 80 tonnes and there are 98 bells in all.

The cathedral was built in honor of Saint Rombout, a seventh century Irish missionary, and it is rumored that his remains are buried inside the cathedral. Twenty-five paintings in the choir illustrate the life of the saint. The construction was started shortly after 1200, and during the final phase in 1452-1520, the tower of the cathedral itself was constructed. The original tower design called for a 77-meter pointed top, but only 7 meters of those were ever actually built, hence the unusual form.nl:Sint-Romboutskathedraal in Mechelen