The massive brick and reinforced concrete structure, in Art Deco style of neo-Byzantine inspiration, features two thinner towers and a nearly as high green copper dome that rises 89 metres (292 ft) above ground, dominating Brussels' north-western skyline.
[1] In the mid-19th century, King Leopold I dreamed of turning the uninhabited Koekelberg hill in north-western Brussels into a royal residence area.
In 1902, Leopold II visited the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur of Paris, and inspired by it, decided to build a pilgrimage church back home, a national sanctuary dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The initial project of the Leuven-based architect Pierre Langerock [fr] was a sumptuous neo-Gothic basilica inspired by the "ideal cathedral" of the French architectural theorist Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
In 1925, a 1/40 scale model of this final design won the great architectural prize at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris.
[10] Cardinal Jozef-Ernest van Roey consecrated the unfinished basilica and opened it for worship on 14 October 1935, after obtaining a special authorisation from Pope Pius XI.
The cupola and thus the external structure was finished in 1969, and on 11 November 1970, the ceremony for the 25th anniversary of the episcopate of Archbishop of Mechelen–Brussels, Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens, marked the completion of the basilica's construction.
The building's exterior combines reinforced concrete with terracotta layering, Dutch belvédère bricks, and white dimension stone from Burgundy.
The basilica's interior possesses a rich architectural heritage and holds an exceptional collection of works of art, including Tête du Christ bronze sculpture by Constant Permeke, thirty-one engravings by Joan Miró about the Canticle of the Sun by Saint Francis of Assisi, a painting by Antoni Tàpies, a photographic work by San Damon [fr] called When Jesus Became Christ on the theme of the crucifixion, seven original lithographs by Alfred Manessier on the theme of Easter and the Mount of Olives, works by James Ensor, a painting by Geneviève Asse on the biblical theme, as well as paintings by Albert Servaes.
The painter Anto Carte designed the eight stained glass windows representing the life of Jesus,[11] and the artist Ri Coëme [nl] an additional twenty-eight.