Scherpenheuvel

I can do no better than to quote the message on this card, which arrived from Belgium today.  The postmark is unfortunately illegible.

I live in a small town called Scherpenheuvel.  As you can see in the picture it has a huge basilica in the centre.  Lots of people come here to pray.  The story behind all this: In the 17th century a thief wanted to steal a little statue from a chapel.  When he did, hes was frozen to the ground.  He could not move.  He stood there for several days until someone came along and put the statue back in its place.  At that exact moment the thief was free again.  the build the basilica on that place and when you visit you can see the statue inside, always on the same place.

The basilica has seven sides and its layout is based on a seven pointed star.  Seven lanes lead up to it and the entire layout of the town reflects this shape.  The dome has 298 stars to symbolise the heavens.