Church of Our Lady-across-the-Dyle was built in the 14th and 15th centuries on the site where Mechelen's first parish church probably stood. The tower contains a complete carillon with no fewer than 49 bells. The Dyle church houses some wonderful art treasures. Rubens painted a work for this church just as he had done for St John's. The fishmongers commissioned him to illustrate the wealth of their guild as they had done by building 'De Grooten Zalm' on the Zoutwerf. The large triptych entitled 'The miraculous draught of fishes' tells the story of the same name from the Bible. The fourteenth-century sculpture 'Our Lady with the Crooked Hip' is one of the glories of the church. It is the only free-standing sculpture in Mechelen from that period and it takes its name from Mary's characteristic stance.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.