A one minute walk from the Centraal Station
lies the Sint Nicolaaskerk, one of the better known churches
in Amsterdam. Dedicated to the patron saint of the sailors,
the church was completed in 1887 and it became the leading
Catholic Church in the city, replacing a number of Amsterdam's
secret churches from the era of the Alteration. During the
Alteration the city council was overtaken by Protestants and the
Catholics lost their Sint Nicolaaskerk (the present-day Oude
Kerk) and were officially forbidden from holding religious
services in public. They were forced to gather in shelters or in
secret homes. That period lasted from 1578 until about 1795,
when finally the Catholics were allowed to build churches again.
The architect, A.C. Bleys designed the church using a combination
of styles of which neo-Renaissance and neo-Baroque are the most
notable. The basilica has the shape of a cross with a nave, two
aisles and a single transept. The facade has two imposing towers
with a rose window in between. The interior is richly decorated
and very beautiful. Catholic services are still performed here.
