The Grote Kerk or Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady) is the most important monument and a landmark of Breda. The church is built in the

Brabantine Gothic Brabantine Gothic, occasionally called Brabantian Gothic, is a significant variant of Gothic architecture that is typical for the Low Countries. It surfaced in the first half of the 14th century at St. Rumbold's Cathedral in the City of Mechele ...

style. The tower of the church is 97 meters tall. The plan is in the shape of a

Latin Cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

History

The first notice of a stone church in Breda is from 1269. In 1410, the construction of the church started with the choir. In 1468, the church was ready but in 1457 the old tower collapsed and between 1468 and 1509 the current tower was built. They continued building until 1547 when the church was finished in its current shape. In 1566, the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

took place and the church was no longer Catholic. In 1637, the church became Protestant. The tower spire burned in 1694 and the current spire was built in 1702. From 1843 onwards many restorations took place, the last big restoration took place from 1993 until 1998. The organ in the Grote Kerk of Breda is one of the largest organs in the Netherlands and its history goes back to the 16th century. At that time, the organ only possessed 16 stops. After being displaced several times, the organ arrived at its present location in the church in 1712. After restoration of the church between 1904 and 1956, a new organ was ordered from D.A. Flentrop in Zaandam. In 1969, the new organ was inaugurated. Nowadays the church also serves as an event hall. Throughout the year there are hundreds of different events being held at the church. With room for 1000 people and in the center of the city, this is an ideal event location. Some of the events are annually recurring and some are just held once. As an example, in 2019 there was a foodtruck festival held inside the church and also a lot of fairs. Installation_from_Henk_Theuns_exhibition_Passion_and_Cycling_Breda_2022

Installation_from_Henk_Theuns_exhibition_Passion_and_Cycling_Breda_2022

Prince chapel

The Prinsenkapel (Prince chapel) north of the choir is the old mausoleum of the van Nassau-Dillenburg dynasty, ancestors to the Dutch Royal Family, the House of Orange-Nassau. The chapel was built from 1520 until 1525 on orders of the Lord of Breda,

Henry III of Nassau-Breda Count Henry III of Nassau-Dillenburg-Dietz (January 12, 1483, Siegen – September 14, 1538, Breda), Lord (from 1530 Baron) of Breda, Lord of the Lek, of Dietz, etc. was a count of the House of Nassau. He was the son of Count John V of Nassau ...

. Seventeen family members are buried in the chapel. When William of Orange died the plan was to bury him also in the chapel, but Breda was at that time occupied by the Spanish. William of Orange and most of his descendants were buried in the mausoleum in the New Church in Delft.

Vault paintings

A special part of the chapel are the vault paintings from 1533. The frescos are made by the Italian painter Tommaso di Andrea Vincidor (a student of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

Restoration

The restoration of the chapel took five years. In 2003 the chapel was reopened to the public. The vault paintings were completely restored, all adaptations from later periods were removed and the original painting restored.

Photo gallery

File:Grote Kerk of Breda.JPG File:BredaTower.jpg File:Sky above the Grote Kerk.JPG File:New baptistery at Grote Kerk.JPG File:Grote Kerk Interior.JPG File:Breda Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk Interior.JPG File:Grote Kerk Breda P1010950.JPG File:Johannes Bosboom - Het koor van de Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk te Breda met het grafmonument van Engelbert II van Nassau.jpg File:Breda Grote Kerk; m.jpg File:P1010748Praalgraf van Engelbrecht II van Nassau.JPG

References

External links

Website of the Grote Kerk
{{Authority control Towers in North Brabant Churches in North Brabant Rijksmonuments in North Brabant Buildings and structures in Breda History of Breda Burial sites of the House of Chalon