Reproductie van een prent van de toren van de Sint-Romboutskathedraal te Mechelen door Wenceslaus Hollar before 1881

This print depicts the tower of the Sint-Romboutskathedraal in Mechelen, rendered with the sharp lines characteristic of Wenceslaus Hollar. Rising heavenward, the tower, in its architectural ambition, is an enduring symbol of mankind's aspiration to reach the divine, and a powerful statement of civic pride. Consider the tower as a latter-day Babel. Its verticality echoes the yearning for transcendence, a motif stretching back to ancient ziggurats and pyramids. In this Gothic form, however, the pointed arches and delicate tracery represent a distinctly Christian interpretation of spiritual ascent. Notice how the tower commands a psychological space, dwarfing the viewer and instilling a sense of awe. This is no accident. It is a conscious manipulation of scale designed to humble and inspire. The image of the tower is not merely a structure of stone, but a vessel carrying centuries of collective memory and spiritual longing.