Basilica of Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel

Belgium's most visited pilgrimage site — a rare circular church from the Counter-Reformation era, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel in Scherpenheuvel-Zichem is reputedly Belgium's most frequently visited pilgrimage site. The circular church — an architectural rarity in northern Europe — was built from 1609 under the patronage of Archdukes Albert and Isabella and stands as a key work of Flemish Counter-Reformation architecture. Consecrated in 1627 and raised to a minor basilica in 1922, the church centres on a Gothic statue of Mary around which the pilgrimage cult grew. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visit each year, with particularly large gatherings during the November novena.