Basilica of St. Nicholas, Amsterdam

Basilica of Saint Nicholas
Sint-Nicolaasbasiliek

The basilica in 2013
Basilica of Saint Nicholas

Location in the city center of Amsterdam

52°22′35.3″N 4°54′4.1″E / 52.376472°N 4.901139°ECoordinates: 52°22′35.3″N 4°54′4.1″E / 52.376472°N 4.901139°E
Country Netherlands
Denomination Roman Catholic
Website www.nicolaas-parochie.nl
Architecture
Architect(s) Adrianus Bleijs
Style Neo-Baroque
Neo-Renaissance
Administration
Parish Amsterdam St Nicholas
Diocese Haarlem-Amsterdam
Clergy
Deacon(s) Eugene Brussee

The Basilica of Saint Nicholas (Dutch: Sint-Nicolaasbasiliek) is located in the Old Centre district of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is the city's major Catholic church.[1]

Officially the church was called St. Nicholas inside the Walls, i.e. the oldest part of the Amsterdam defence works. The architect, Adrianus Bleijs (1842-1912) designed the church basing himself on a combination of several revival styles of which Neo-Baroque and neo-Renaissance are the most prominent models.

The facade is crowned by two towers with a rose window in between. The centre of this window is formed by a bas relief depicting Christ and the four Evangelists, made in the Van den Bossche and Crevels workshop in 1886. A sculpture of the patron saint of both the church and the city of Amsterdam was placed in a niche in the upper section of the gable top. The well-known sculptor Bart van Hove (1850-1914) made the sculpture in 1886. The crossing is articulated by a large octagonal tower with a baroque dome and lantern and crowned by a cross. The basis of the groundplan is the scheme of the classic three-aisled cross-basilica, i.e. a nave, two aisles and a single transept. The choir is located as is usual, at the end of the nave. In the corners formed by the transept and the nave, two chapels are located, traditionally devoted to Mary and Joseph.

The basilica has a collection of religious murals. Above the high altar is the crown of Maximilian I, which is a symbol seen throughout Amsterdam.[1]

Inside the newly renovated church, a 19th-century Sauer Organ can be found, on which concerts are given and mass is accompanied.

The famous view of the dome of the Church of St. Nicholas in Amsterdam seen from the Oudezijds Voorburgwal.

Basilica

In the 125th year of its existence, St Nicholas' Church elevated to "basilica minor" or basilica. That happened on 8 December 2012 during a celebration of Solemn Vespers, attended by ecclesiastical and secular authorities. Mgr. A. Dupuy, Apostolic Nuncio to the Netherlands, read the document which described the decision.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Martin Dunford (2010). The Rough Guide to The Netherlands. Penguin. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-84836-882-8. Retrieved 24 November 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sint-Nicolaaskerk (Amsterdam).