Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kerk

The OLV Church is the most important monument in Breda. It was built between 1410 and 1468.

About this building

In 1410 the construction of the choir started, and was finished 1468. During the construction, in 1457, the tower collapsed and so between 1468 and 1509 the current tower was built. In 1547, construction ended with the church in its current form. The spire was burned down in 1694 and the current spire dates from 1702.

Other nearby buildings

Synagoge

In 1845, a synagogue was built in the Schoolstraat. The Jewish community also had its own school. There was a board for the poor and a society that took care of the sick and the poor, while a women's society took care of the maintenance of the synagogue and the ritual objects. During the occupation, approximately 80 Jews went into hiding in the vicinity of Breda, who were supported by the resistance. Serious damage was done to the synagogue by the NSB, and part of the interior was stolen. After the war, the Jewish community of Breda initially met in a room converted into a synagogue from 1952 onwards. In 1971, a building was purchased on the Dr. van Mierlostraat and consecrated as a synagogue. The old synagogue on the Schoolstraat served as a workshop for many years, but was put back into use in September 1992 after a renovation and restoration. The synagogue also houses a modest library. Since December 2002, the building has been owned by the NIG (Dutch Israelite Community) Breda, who bought it from the Breda Synagogue Exploitation Foundation. Services are held regularly. In nearby Terheijden , the synagogue of the liberal Jewish community of Brabant was inaugurated in 1983. (Source: JHM)

Evangelisch Lutherse Kerk

Important "hidden church" without a tower. The Reformation began in 1517 with the nailing of Luther's theses to the door of the castle church of Wittenberg, but it was not until around 1566 that a Lutheran community was established in Breda. The community consisted largely of people of German descent. For a long time, they had a hidden church on the Nieuwstraat. In 1777, the community bought a house on the Veemarktstraat, called 'Repos Ailleurs'. It was a large house with a forecourt. In 1786, the Lutheran church was consecrated in the renovated mansion. Two houses had been built on the forecourt so that the house could only be reached through a gate from the Veemarktstraat. It is the only still functioning hidden church in Breda. In 1838, the church was thoroughly renovated. The pointed arch windows that are visible from the inner courtyard were also installed then. The church was restored in 1966-1967.

Kathedrale Kerk H. Antonius van Padua

Beautiful neoclassical church with tower. Cathedral of the Diocese of Breda. This is the only remaining large Roman Catholic parish church in and around the centre of Breda. The parish of Breda-Centrum also uses the much smaller, also neoclassical, St. Catherine Chapel / Church on the Beguinage as a church building.