Nijmegen - Grote Kerk or St Stevenskerk

The building of the Grote Kerk or St Stevenskerk began around 1260, and the first tower was built in 1307. Little remains from this early period. Around 1400 the nave was rebuilt, and this was followed by the magnificent choir with its ambulatory and ring of chapels, the aisled transepts, the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher and the south doorway, all complete by around 1560. Beside the church is a square tower (1593) with an octagonal belfry (1604) and an 18th century carillon. The tower and the facade of the church were rebuilt after suffering severe damage during the Second World War; the interior of the church was restored in 1969. In the choir is the tomb (1512) of Catherine of Bourbon (d. 1469), wife of Duke Adolf of Gelderland. There are some fragments of wall painting in the burial chapel and ambulatory (16th C.). Other surviving features are part of the choir-stalls (1577), the pulpit (1639) and the organ (1773).