0737 BELGIUM (West Flanders) - Dunes Church of Our Lady in Koksijde

Koksijde (Coxyde in French) is a municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders, on the North Sea coast, near the border with France, at only 30km from Dunkirk. Among important sights of Koksijde, alongside of the museum of the historical Abbey of the Dunes (1120-1833), the Zouave Monument (erected in 1934), the British Military Cemetery (1940–1945), and the Paul Delvaux museum (which houses the largest collection of paintings from this Belgian surrealist painter in the world), is the building depicted in the postcard, the Church of Our Lady of the Dunes (also known as Cathedral of Light), built between 1956 and 1962 after the projects of the architect Josef Lantsoght and inspired by the 'kokkel' (a kind of mussel).

The roof of steel is in the form of two waves who beat against each other, and then one can see a cross-bearing sphere. The interior of the church is lit with modern stained glass windows, designed by Gabriel Loire of Chartres. The altar and the crucifix are the work of Maurice Witdouck. In terms of materials chosen for construction of steel, concrete, glass and concrete. The concrete frame is clad in white brick and metal roof cap is lined with blue glazed tiles. Since 1968, the church holds a relic (the femur) of Saint Idesbald, who in 1155 became the third abbot of the Abbey of Our Lady of the Dunes and was a friend of the powerful abbot of ecclesiastical history, Bernard of Clairvaux. On 18 July 1999, the relic was transferred from the crypt to a modern tomb in the church.

About the stamps
The first stamp was issued to commemorate Luxphila 2008 - the National Philatelic Exhibition, which held between 25 and 28 September in the WEX - the Wallonie Expo located in Marche-en-Famenne.

The second stamp is part of the series Masters of Music, issued on May 9, 2009, and designed by Jan de Maesschalck (all with the same face value):
• Henry Purcell
• Georg Friedrich Händel - it's on this postcard
• Joseph Haydn
• Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
• Clara Schumann

References
Koksijde - Wikipedia
Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ter-Duinenkerk (Koksijde) - Wikipedia
Masters of Music - World of belgian Stamps


sender: David Wiame (direct swap)
sent from Brussels (Brussels / Belgium), on 08.04.2013