Notre Dame de Tournai | Tournai, Belgium

[Matthieu]

Located on the Scheldt River 10 km from the French Border, Tournai is one of the oldest cities in Belgium, established by the Romans on the road from Cologne to France. The Franks of Merovingian dynasty chose Tournai as the seat of their kingdom for a time in the 5th century: Chlodewetch (who aquired the more familiar nickname Clovis from storytellers centuries after he died), was born there. Our Lady's Cathedral of Tournai is one of the most spectacular churches in Belgium. Another famous native of Tournai is Flemish master painter Roger de la Pasture, better known as Rogier van der Weyden.

At first view, Tournai seems to be a quiet provincial town buried deep in the Walloon province of Hainaut alongside the banks of the river Scheldt ( l'Escaut ). Don't be mistaken.

In the Middle Ages it was an extremely important center of wall tapestry weaving. Architecturally, it influenced most of the other cities which were situated alongside the Scheldt river, not in the least because of the export and trade of the 'blue-gray' natural stone which was found in stone quarries near to the city.





http://www.trabel.com/tournai/images/tournai-statue%20pointing.jpg

http://www.greengrape.net/kazuhiro/romanesque/misc/matsumoto_tournai.jpg

http://www.skene.be/RW/PMondial/Tournai.jpg

http://ezo.hu/img/esszenus/lelekemelo/TOURNAI.jpg

http://www.mtmercy.edu/classes/ar213/romanesque/Images/14Tournai.jpg

[Phobos]

9/10
The towers are really massive

[Fabio]

8/10

I like the towers

[Kampflamm]

8.5

Does anybody have a name of that Romanesque church in Liege which looks incredibly good after being renovated.

[Josh]

^^Eglise Saint-Barthélemy

[Kampflamm]

Whoa, 1 minute. :applause:

[El_Greco]

9/10

[JohnnyMass]

impressive towers, 9/10

[red_hunter]

i had the luck to see it in real when i lived in Lille, and i've to say it's more again impressive in real!!!

9/10

[Mercutio]

Honestly, I think the pictures posted in this thread don't do this UNESCO monument justice.



Here are two additional shots:


http://doc.tournai.be/photosaeriennes/Tournai_052_Photo35.jpg

http://doc.tournai.be/photosaeriennes/Tournai_038_Photo27.jpg



source:http://www.tournai.be/fr/officiel/index.php?page=375



9/10 :cheers:

[Matthieu]

:cheers:

[Ellatur]

9.5/10

[Sideshow_Bob]

7/10

[FREKI]

7/10 - It massive allright, but I don't really like it... the aditional shots are great though!

[Sinjin P.]

9/10

[Moren-o]

I wasn't really familiar with the building. Now that I've seen the pics, I've got to visit it :)

8.5/10

[Benonie]

The interior is even more beautifull. But the church, one of the finest in Belgium, is in very bad condition and needs a total restauration. One of the towers almost fell down after a little eartquake some years ago.
9,5/10 for the amazing gotic-romanesque architecture!

[Reflex]

8.5/10.

[Vrysxy]

8,5/10

[forvine]

8.5/10

[Mosaic]

9/10 :)

[Erasmus]

One of the most impressive churches I know. As i live in Belgium, I should visit it one of these days... I like spectacular building... So massive!!!

[Valia]

10

i like it

[Principes]

7.5/10

[crossbowman]

9/10

[clarky]

8/10

[Dreamlıneя]

8/10

[gutooo]

9/10

[Sbz2ifc]

9/10
Nice collection of church towers.

[W!CKED]

9\10

[N.V.]

A very impressive cathedral in a city with only 35.000 inhabitants! It will look much better after renovation. 9/10

More information about the cathedral (wikipedia):

Our Lady of Flanders Cathedral is one of the most important architectural monuments in Belgium. This structure of local blue-gray stone occupies rising ground near the south bank of the Scheldt, which divides the city of Tournai into two roughly equal parts. Begun in the 12th century on even older foundations, the building combines the work of three design periods with striking effect, the heavy and severe character of the Romanesque nave contrasting remarkably with the Transitional work of the transept and the fully developed Gothic of the choir. The transept is the most distinctive part of the building, with its cluster of five bell towers and apsidal (semicircular) ends.

The nave belongs mostly to the first third of the 12th century. Prefiguring the Early Gothic style, it has a second-tier gallery between the ground-floor arcade and the triforium. Pilasters between the round-arched windows in the clerestory help support the 18th-century vaulting that replaced the original ceiling, which was of wood, and flat.

The transept arms, built in about the mid-12th century, have apsidal ends, a feature borrowed in all probability from certain Rhenish churches, and which would appear to have made its influence felt in the northeast of France, as at Noyon and Soissons. The square towers that flank the transept arms reach a height of 83 meters. They vary in detail, some of the arcade work with which they are enriched being in the round-arched and some in the pointed style.

Bishop Gautier de Marvis (1219-1252) had the original Romanesque choir demolished in the 13th Century, in order to replace it with a Gothic choir of much grander dimensions, inspired by the likes of Amiens Cathedral. The construction of the new choir began in 1242, and ended in 1255. The rest of the cathedral was supposed to be rebuilt in the same style as the choir, but this was never attempted, the only later additions being the western porch, and a large Gothic chapel which was built alongside one of the side aisles, whose original walls and windows disappeared in the process.

In recognition of the Tournai cathedral's cultural value, UNESCO designated the building a World Heritage Site in the year 2000.


http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y100/Nielsv/TOUR009.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y100/Nielsv/L1050238bis.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y100/Nielsv/L1050305bis.jpg

Choirs (Courtauld Institute of Art)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y100/Nielsv/f944fcb7d7b05f44785165da14032d3f321.jpg

Aisle (Courtauld Institute of Art)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y100/Nielsv/CourtauldInstituteofArt.jpg

Transept (Courtauld Institute of Art)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y100/Nielsv/8b8d8307bbf8708843487a5e32375b49c96.jpg

Overview (Courtauld Institute of Art)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y100/Nielsv/ab5fc230890e867825a5db9f193558b2743.jpg

Portal (Courtauld Institute of Art)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y100/Nielsv/af0a14621cbcb89596ab0a67945d9bad740.jpg

[Kelsen]

8.5/10.

[Irekonline]

8/10
I prefer French gothic.

[marpa]

9/10

[Popiel]

9/10

[Nikkodemo]

Nice!

9/10

[LMCA1990]

9/10

[stasiua]

9,5/10