Kerk, Linnaeushof 93

English translation

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Description

Introduction

The church of the Holy Martyrs of Gorcum (Linnaeushof 93) with associated presbytery (Linnaeushof 94) was built in 1928-1929 after designs by A.J. Kropholler. The presbytery aligns in location and height with the surrounding buildings in the Linnaeushof also designed by Kropholler. The church is rotated a quarter turn relative to the houses in the courtyard and thus also the presbytery, in order to orient the choir to the east.

Description

The cruciform church, constructed almost entirely of brick, consists of a broad basilican nave with five buttresses, narrow low aisles, a crossing heightened with a tower, a low transept, a polygonally closed apse and shallow side arms with minor apses. With the exception of the aisles, side arms and apses which are vaulted with segmental arch vaults, the church is entirely covered by a wooden roof structure. The windowless and virtually undecorated front facade has two pointed arch entrance portals and is flanked by two towers: on the north side a substantial bell tower with sound openings and on the south side a much narrower and lower tower with a clock face. The individual spaces have different roofs covered with red tiles; the crossing tower has a helm roof, the other towers have a tapered tent roof, the nave and transept arms have gabled roofs and the aisles have catslide roofs. Internally the nave and crossing have a collar-tie roof truss left exposed. The roof struts are supported by natural stone consoles. The five pointed tapering brick transverse arches in the nave, above which are positioned four each likewise pointed arch coupled windows, rest on short columns with natural stone capitals. The liturgical centre is separated from the church space by choir arches, has a higher floor than the rest of the church and is externally emphasized by the crossing tower. The altar stands under a ciborium, consisting of four marble columns and a wooden roof crowned by a crown. Behind this is the closed polygonal structure for the choir. The furnishings, almost entirely designed by Kropholler, form a unity with the building. Furthermore the interior houses many decorative elements designed by others, such as the Virgin Mary statue in the west wall by Lambertus Zijl, the stations of the cross by A. Stockhof de Jong, the statues of Christ in the mandorla and the twelve apostles above the high altar and the statues of Mary and Joseph at the triumphal arch by Dom J.H.M. van der Meij. The glazing of the church consists of original stained-glass pointed arch leaded windows also designed by Van der Meij. The Christian iconography with the history of salvation in the nave is accompanied by Dutch texts. The windows in the aisles depict the martyrs of Gorcum and the windows in the crossing tower represent the eight beatitudes. Striking is the positioning of these pointed arch windows in the crossing; the elongated pointed arch windows are placed in a half-arch form, with the centre between the windows left empty and emphasized by a small round window at the top. The likewise original undecorated leaded windows at the sides of the apse provide yellowish coloured light in the presbytery. The presbytery stands as an independent rectangular building volume to the southwest of the church and is connected to the church at ground floor level. The presbytery has, apart from a small two-storey extension at the front, three storeys and has a tapered hipped roof with a chimney on the ridge on each side. The entrance is located in the low extension at the front, on the rear and garden side a masoned balcony with heavy natural stone consoles is positioned on the first floor.

Valuation

Church with presbytery from 1928-1929 of general national importance for its architectural and cultural historical and typological value as a well-preserved example of one of the most important works of A.J. Kropholler in traditionalist style with special detailing of both exterior and interior and for its liturgical-historical significance and arrangement, in particular the glazing, and for its urban planning location at the focal point of the Linnaeushof designed by the same architect.