Description of the attraction
Notre Dame Cathedral, or Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Luxembourg. In 1603, a Jesuit college was opened in Luxembourg, and soon the order decided to build its own church in the city. So, in 1613, the first stone was laid in the foundation of the future Jesuit temple, which later became the Cathedral of Notre Dame. The solemn consecration of the church took place in 1623.
By the mid-18th century, the political and economic influence of the Jesuit order was beginning to raise serious concerns in the royal houses of Europe. The ensuing intrigues, the main purpose of which was to neutralize the influence of the order, resulted in massive persecution of its members. In 1773, Pope Clement XIV was forced to abolish the order, which for more than two centuries had been a reliable support of the papacy and the main force of the Counter-Reformation. The Jesuits were expelled, including from Luxembourg, and already in 1778 the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa granted the Jesuit temple to the city, and it became a new parish church and was named "Church of St. Nicholas and St. Theresa". The church received the name Notre Dame in March 1848. In 1870, in accordance with the decision of Pope Pius IX, Luxembourg became a diocese, and the Church of Notre Dame received the status of a cathedral.
Luxembourg's Notre Dame Cathedral is a very impressive late Gothic structure with a rich addition of architectural elements and decorations typical of the Renaissance. Such an unusual combination of two so different styles undoubtedly gives the building a special charm. The cathedral is crowned with three towers - the western bell tower was part of a Jesuit temple, and the eastern and central ones were added during a large-scale reconstruction of 1935-1938.
The luxurious interior decoration of the cathedral undoubtedly deserves special attention - impressive columns decorated with arabesques, numerous sculptures, colorful stained-glass windows, a neo-Gothic confessional, etc. The main relic of the cathedral is the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary, the Comforter of the Sorrows, whom the Luxembourgers revered as their patroness.
In the crypt of the cathedral, the entrance to which is "guarded" by two bronze lions by Auguste Tremont, the remains of the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg rest.
