Zielona Swieta w Belgii

IP: *.169-247-81.adsl-dyn.isp.belgacom.be 11.05.08, 07:51

Week-end Zielonych Swiat w Belgii.

Jutro, spotkania w Scherpenheuvel (po NL)-
Montaigu (po francusku)
Msz Swieta po polsku i procesja

www.belgiumview.com/belgiumview/tl3/view0001648.php4
Warto przyjechac i spotkac Polakow z calej Belgii.

    • Gość: Religijna Scherpenheuvel (Montaigu) - IP: *.169-247-81.adsl-dyn.isp.belgacom.be 11.05.08, 07:55
      Scherpenheuvel-Zichem is a municipality located in the province of Flemish
      Brabant, Flemish Region, Belgium, encompassing the towns of Averbode,
      Messelbroek, Okselaar, Scherpenheuvel, Testelt and Zichem (previously spelled
      Sichem, like the biblical town). On January 1, 2006 Scherpenheuvel-Zichem had a
      total population of 22,064. The total area is 50.50 km² which gives a population
      density of 437 inhabitants per km².

      Scherpenheuvel (English: "Steep Hill"), the most important pilgrimage (Roman
      Catholic) in Belgium is located some 50 km east of Brussels. Its origins date
      back to the pagan worship that still survived during the Middle-Ages around a
      holy oak on this hilltop. The cross-shaped tree was thus "Christianized" with a
      statue of the Holy Mary.

      Legend has it that around AD 1500 the Virgin Mary performed a miracle here,
      freezing into place a shepherd boy who tried to take home the small statue, thus
      foiling the theft. As of the 1550s, a flood of devoted pilgrims, arriving from
      the surrounding areas, came to the tree to pray for health and recovery of their
      ill loved ones. In 1580, the statue disappeared as Dutch-Protestant iconoclasts
      pillaged the region. 7 years later it was replaced by a new one, which still
      stands on the altar of the actual pilgrimage-church. The oak tree being almost
      dead but still inspiring in fetishist worship alongside the Roman Catholic
      devotion to Mary was felled by order of the bishop of Antwerp. A first wooden
      chapel was built on the site and a number of statues of the Holy Virgin cut out
      of the trunk found their way to different sanctuaries (such as Luxembourg). The
      fame of Scherpenheuvel increased and increasing numbers of people arrived,
      begging for protection against plague and famine that swept the Low Countries as
      a consequence of the "Eighty Years War" (Dutch Revolt). The chapel soon became
      far to small for them.

      In January 1603 a new miracle is reported: the statue weeps bloody tears. The
      religious schism in the Netherlands is blamed for the pain of Mary. In November
      1603 the Spanish army defeats Protestant troops besieging 's-Hertogenbosch, an
      important fortification in Northern Brabant.

      Archduke Albert of Austria (appointed by the King of Spain as the governor of
      the Low Countries), and his wife, the Archduchess Isabella (daughter of King
      Philip II of Spain) donate for the construction of a stone chapel in
      Scherpenheuvel and make a pilgrimage themselves.

      In 1604, a few months after its inauguration by the bishop of Mechelen, the new
      chapel is looted by Northern troops. The statue is secured by Jesuits. Two
      months later the Protestants are chased from Ostend, their last stronghold in
      the Southern Netherlands. This victory is attributed again to the Holy Virgin.
      Scherpenheuvel is privileged as a city. Also in 1604, Philips Numann, clerk of
      the archbishop of Mechelen describes the legend of Scherpenheuvel in his
      "Historie der Mirakelen" (History of Miracles). The legend is classified as a
      "folk-tale", but he also reports about the miracles that are recognised as such
      by Catholic authorities. His book is translated from Dutch into French, Spanish
      and English and spreads the fame of Scherpenheuvel all over Western Europe.

      In 1607, projects are ordered to the famous architect-engineer Wenceslas
      Cobergher for the realisation of a bastion of Catholic Counter Reformation: the
      whole city should be an allegoric homage to the Mother of God, a "hortus
      conclusus" symbolizing her eternal virginity. Seven lanes lead towards the
      church. Its layout is based on a 7-pointed star, which stands for the abundance
      of God's mercy. In the church, the advent of Jesus is announced by 6
      Old-Testament prophets and realised by Mary who gives birth to the Messiah. In
      1609 the first stone is put in place for the unique structure in highly
      developed baroque style, which is finally inaugurated in 1627. The streets and
      layout of the town itself had been designed to mirror the shape. With its
      surroundings, it's now one of the best examples of the triumphalist architecture
      of Counter-Reformation in Belgium. The dome, adorned with 298 golden stars
      symbolizes the cosmos. The main altar is said to be placed on the exact spot
      where the old oak tree once stood. Archduchess Isabella attended the
      inauguration-mass without her deceased husband. She came on foot from nearby
      Diest, which gave birth to the foot-pilgrimages that still survive from places
      as distant as Maastricht and Bergen-Op-Zoom. She put all her gold and jewellery
      before the altar, a custom that persists to this day, in the form of coin throwing.

      The pilgrimage at Scherpenheuvel flourished. The "Oratorianen", an order of
      religious fathers occupy with religious worship and pilgrimage logistics, had
      their abbey connected to the church by the "baroque gallery". They were chased
      during French occupation after the 1797 revolution and didn't return to the
      place after religious restoration in the beginning of the 19th century.

      In 1927, the church was proclaimed a Roman-catholic "basilica minor".

      Other traditions that survive the centuries at Scherpenheuvel are the
      "Kaarskensprocessie" (Procession of the candles) on the 2nd of November and
      blessing-processions for people, pets and animals, vehicles. The popularity of
      the pilgrimage also has a lot to do with the year-round fairy atmosphere that
      characterizes the place: lots of stalls with souvenirs, sugar sweets, typical
      bakery like the "pepernoten" and "moppen", hotels, bars and restaurants of
      different kinds.
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