Built in the 15th century, the church was patronised by the nobility and wealthy citizens of Brussels, and is characterised by its late Brabantine Gothic exterior and rich interior decoration including two Baroque chapels. Its neo-Gothic decorative elements date from the 19th century. The complex was designated a historic monument in 1936. The origin of the church goes back to the early 13th century when the Duke of Brabant, Henry I, recognised the Noble Serment of Crossbowmen as a guild and granted them certain privileges, including the right to use a plot at the Sablon/Zavel (a piece of sandy clay land outside the city walls) as an exercise ground. Nearly a century later, in 1304, the Guild of the brothers and sisters of Saint John's Hospital (French: Hôpital Saint-Jean, Dutch: Sint-Jansgasthuis) ceded to the Crossbowmen's Guild an area adjacent to the Sablon where the Guild proceeded to build a modest chapel dedicated to Our Lady.