Description of the attraction
St. Bavo's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Dutch city of Haarlem. The temple is the cathedral of the Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam (Archdiocese of Utrecht) and one of the most impressive religious buildings in the Netherlands.
The Cathedral of Saint Bavo was built in 1895-1930 as a replacement for the old parish church and cathedral of the city - the Church of Saint Joseph by Yanstraat, which turned out to be too small for the Catholic community of Haarlem. The initiator of the construction was Bishop Gaspard Botteman. The design contract was concluded in 1893, and already in 1895 construction work began. The construction of the cathedral, mainly due to financial difficulties, stretched out for many years, but already in April 1898 (by this time a choir with a semicircular apse, a dwarf gallery and chapels had been built), despite the fact that there were still more than 30 -years old, the cathedral was consecrated in honor of Saint Bavo, revered by the inhabitants of Haarlem as their patron. The construction was completed only in 1930, and in May 1948, by the decree of Pope Pius XII, the Cathedral of Saint Bavo was given the status of a minor basilica.
Initially, it was assumed that the famous Dutch architect Petrus Kuipers would be engaged in the design of the new cathedral, but his son, Joseph Kuipers, nevertheless became the main architect of the project. It is known that the original project was executed in the neo-Gothic style, but later Joseph Kuypers made a number of changes to it, and as a result, the Cathedral of Saint Bavo in Haarlem became an excellent example of the harmonious combination of neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style.
Today the Cathedral of St. Bavo is considered to be one of the most interesting sights of Haarlem. It is worth noting that the cathedral is interesting not only from the point of view of architecture and interior design; the museum located in its old sacristy deserves special attention, the exposition of which contains unique artifacts that survived the Reformation and will acquaint you with the history of Catholicism in Haarlem.
