Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The Holy Lambertus Church is situated on a site surrounded by ditches, accessible via a wooden bridge, with a balustrade and passageway built up in tree branches. The site is planted with various trees. The church, built in 1872-1873, is constructed in a sober Neo-Gothic style. The church was built for the residents of the tenant houses founded by Jonkheer AJA van Rijckevorsel and the service houses belonging to his country house. The houses, which have since been demolished, were leased by the lord for the development of the sanded dune lands (the Staelduin).

The foundation stone was laid on 19 April 1870 and was taken into use by pastor A. Ceelen on 9 January 1873. The church was built in a simple neo-Gothic style. The architect or master builder was HC Dobbe from 's-Hertogenbosch. The basis is a three-aisled cruciform church with transept (transepts and the part in between) and a polygonal closed choir. At the front is a low porch with entrance door. The sacristy has been added on the west side and the transepts have a confessional extension on both sides. All roofs are designed as saddle roofs, only the side aisles have lean-to roofs and the current coffee room has a tent roof. All roofs are covered with slates. On the crossing, the centre of the transept, a square roof turret has been placed with a tower clock, a bell and a wrought iron cross on the spire. There are four small dormer windows in the main roof.

St. Lambertus, 1876-1881, PJH Cuypers. Single-nave neo-Gothic cruciform church in sober brick shapes with a tower, crowned by a spire. Wooden barrel vaults. Neo-Gothic marlstone chapel in the shape of a cross in the churchyard, crowned by a fioel and surrounded by buttress arches. This church is listed as a National Monument of the Netherlands.

Large neo-Gothic church with high tower. Main work of architect Van Aalst.

The church building was designed by the Nijmegen architect Hendrik van de Leur (1898-1994). It was built by the company de Bonth-van Hulten from Nieuwkuijk. The consecration took place on 16 August 1954 by mgr. Mutsaerts, bishop of Den Bosch. The original design included two towers on the corners of the front. This was not implemented in the final version; the south work has a diagonally placed central tower as a crowning feature. In addition to the chancel, an angelus bell in a small tower. The exterior of the nave is designed as a pseudo-basilica; however, the central nave has no windows and is only a few decimetres higher than the roof of the side aisles. Internally, the nave is vaulted with a stone barrel vault, supported by brick arches. The arches rest on brick pillars with natural stone accents. Low transepts, accentuated in the interior by the use of concrete pillars.

In 1909 by Wolter te Riele (1867 - 1937). designed, in 1910-11 built neo-Gothic CROSS BASILICA, called H. Lambertus, with four-sided entrance tower and polygonal closed choir, with two ditto side chapels and baptismal chapel; adjoining each of the two transept arms a side chapel; belonging to the free-standing parsonage on the right. The tower, each provided with two elongated sound holes and a clock, is crowned by a low lantern with four corner turrets and an octagonal spire, which, like the roof turret, is covered with slates. The church, built of brick, contains pointed arch windows of various sizes with natural stone traceries and a stained glass filling, mostly with simple, geometric patterns, in the choir and transept partly with religious representations. The church is closed off by a combination of saddle, shield and lean-to roofs, covered with slates. The not completely symmetrically designed floor plan is centralising in design, with the side aisles increasing in width in leaps from the entrance and the choir flanked by two polygonal, less deeply extended side chapels; furthermore the hexagonal baptismal chapel and at the transept arms two straight-ended side chapels. The interior, executed in fair brickwork, which is plastered white around the windows and in the vault fields, is covered by net and star vaults at the wide, four-bay central nave and transept, by cross-ribbed vaults at the half-as-deep side aisles, and is divided into three aisles by round brick pillars with wide intercolumns; at the choir articulated pillars. The double-shell clerestory walls are provided with a triforium all around. The neo-Gothic interior also includes: the richly decorated altar, the wooden Marianum, the carved pulpit, supported by St. Lambertus, the painted Stations of the Cross, several colored statues of saints, as well as the confessionals. A church characteristic of the work of the late neo-Gothic architect te Riele, of centralizing design, with a striking tower and well-preserved interior, as such of importance because of its architectural-historical value.

Roman Catholic church, built in 1843, retaining the 18th-century tower, against which the current choir was built. Three-aisled neoclassical pseudo-basilica. Enlarged westwards in 1956. Internally plastered barrel vaults and Tuscan columns. Very rich main altar in Louis XV style from the second half of the 18th century and two 17th-century side altars. Organ with main work, positive and free pedal, made in 1848 by the Müller brothers from Reifferscheidt (Germany). Restored to its original state in 1987. Bell frame with bell by anonymous founder, 1763, diameter 49 cm.

The Sint-Lambertuskerk is a single-nave neo-Gothic church with a facade tower. It was consecrated in 1863 and the architect was J. Werten. In 1930 the church was expanded with low side aisles. The Sacred Heart statue was also placed at that time. The organ possibly dates from 1759, and is said to have been made by Paules van Yesdonk from Gemert.

The original chapel on this site was founded by Jan I van Cuijk. According to tradition, he did this as penance for his involvement in the murder of the Dutch count Floris V in 1296. The current building was built between 1450 and 1475. At that time, the chapel was still subordinate to the parish church of St. Martin in Cuijk. Around 1550, the church had its own churchwardens and a sexton. Masses were also celebrated there. In short, there was already development towards an independent parish church. And in 1564, the chapel was given that status, but that was over within a century. Because after the Peace of Munster in 1648, the Lambertus Church was closed: in the young Republic of the United Netherlands, the public practice of the Roman Catholic faith was no longer permitted. The church in Linden was closed (due to a lack of Protestants who could use the building). The Catholics from Linden went to church in Kleef or Mook. For a short while, from 1672 to 1674, the people of Linden got their church back from the French. But after their departure, the church lost its function as a place of worship again and was used as a salt storage facility. At the end of the seventeenth century, things became a bit more relaxed: in many places, Catholics built a so-called barn church: an inconspicuous building where people could go to church. In Linden, there was no barn church, but a house church (or church house). In 1698, pastor Verstraten built a church house with a home. A very beautiful kind of clandestine church, which one of his successors would later gratefully use for his seminary.

This modern church, which is not included on the list itself, is the successor to a church built in 1829 on Speelheuvelstraat, which in turn replaced a barn church that was opened in 1672 and renovated in 1760. The medieval church, largely dating from 1436, came into the hands of the Reformed Church in 1648, and was demolished in 1870. The following has been taken over in the modern church: a richly carved main altar, ca. 1750, with life-size statues of Franciscus, Jozef, Augustine and Elias, and two altarpieces, 1753 by OE Pirotte, depicting John the Baptist, Anna and Maria. Furthermore, an oak communion bench from 1750, two stone holy water fonts (18th century) in the shape of a vase. Organ with main work and positif, made in 1857 by FC Smits. Restored in 1963 and expanded with a free pedal.