Roman Catholic Church of St John the Baptist
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1464 NG Westbeemster Plan your route to the Roman Catholic Church of St John the Baptist
This church, dedicated to John the Baptist, was built in 1878-1879 to the design of H. Bijvoets. The design of the presbytery is also his.
The architectural style is neo-Gothic. After the introduction of the Constitution of 1848, which among other things guaranteed freedom of religion to Roman Catholics, many neo-Gothic churches were built in this style. After all, Gothic was originally a Catholic architectural style, so the choice of the neo-Gothic style for new Catholic churches was a logical one.
The church has a striking altar, stained-glass windows and an 1890 organ, with principal, swell and free pedal, made by the Franssen brothers in Roermond.
Before 1879, preaching took place in sheltered churches. There were four of these hidden churches in the Beemster at the time. One of them stands next to the present church, café De Kerckhaen.
