Liège - Basilique Saint-Martin

From Sainte-Croix the Rue Mont Saint-Martin climbs up to the Basilique Saint-Martin, visible from afar, founded in the 10th C. and destroyed by fire in 1312 in disputes between the guilds and the nobility. It was rebuilt in its present form at the beginning of the 16th C. with a large star-covered choir. The church has stained glass windows dating from 1526-1536, paintings by Englebert Fiesen together with 14 marble plaques in the first side chapel on the right by Delcour commemorating the initiation of the feast of Corpus Christi (Fête-Dieu). This was first celebrated in 1246 following a vision by St Juliana, a Liège nun, and was proclaimed by Pope Urban IV (former Archdeacon of Liège Cathedral Church) a church holiday throughout Christendom.