This church is one of the best preserved
examples of Lower Rhine Gothicism in
The Netherlands. It's a three-aisled basilica with a lower choir and a
tall tower. The oldest part of the church is the choir, which was built
in the 14th century, when a previous church became a chapter church.
The choir is in a much simpler style than the rest of the church. The
transept of the predecessor was demolished in ca. 1430 and replaced by
the current nave. In ca. 1500 the nave was completed. The tower dates
from the second half of the 15th century and is a highlight of Lower
Rhine Gothicism. It consists of four segments, the upper three of which
have four niches on every side. The use of even numbers is typical for
this variant of Gothicism, as are the ornaments on the buttresses that
soften the silhouet of the tower. Lightning destroyed the tall spire in
1538. A slightly less tall spire was built some twenty years later, but
that one was destroyed in 1696, also by lightning. In early 1945 German
troops put explosives in the tower to prevent its possible use by
Allied troops, but thankfully the tower survived the war without any
serious damage. |
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Back to Churches in the province of Gelderland |