Sint-Willibrorduskerk buiten de Veste, Neo-Gothic church in De Pijp district, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Sint-Willibrorduskerk buiten de Veste is a Neo-Gothic church in the De Pijp neighborhood with French-inspired features including ribbed vaults and flying buttresses topped by an octagonal tower reaching about 60 meters high. The building stretched across a substantial length with a wide nave and transept areas.
Construction began in 1871 under architect Pierre Cuypers, with initial sections completed by 1873, while the nave and transept were added between 1890 and 1897. The building served its community until 1966, when structural damage and heavy traffic led to permanent closure.
It served as a gathering place for the local Catholic community and demonstrated the church's determination to establish a strong presence in Amsterdam after a period of religious restriction. The scale and style of the building expressed the confidence and ambition of this community.
The building is not open to visitors today as it was abandoned after closure in 1966 and remains protected as a monument. You can view it from outside along Ceintuurbaan street, where the Neo-Gothic architecture is still visible despite the structure's deteriorated state.
The original design included plans for six towers, which would have made it potentially the largest Neo-Gothic church in the Netherlands at about 100 meters long. This ambitious vision was never fully realized, and the structure remained smaller than originally intended.
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