Magdalena Church and Saint Anna chapel
(Magdalenasteenweg/ Rue de la Madeleine)
Built in the 13th century and rebuilt in gothic style around the 15th century, this small church is located close to the Grand’Place. As other monuments in the area, it was bombed and damaged in 1695. The church was handed over to the redemptorists in 1841. But it was then expropriated and supposed to be destroyed to make the north-south railway junction that crosses Brussels. Much to everyone’s surprise, architects Brigode and Brunfaut were assigned to rebuild an already damaged part of the church and to start renovation works. Parts of the facade of the nearby Saint Anna Chapel (1655) that was once located Rue de la montagne/Bergstraat was set into the north side of the Magdalena Church.
