Shortly
after the protestants murdered 19 catholic priests and monks in 1572 in a
monastery just outside Brielle, the site of the murder started to attract small
numbers of
pilgrims. In the 19th century plans were made for a permanent memorial and an
organised pilgrimage. A pilgrimage centre was built in 1878-1880 and was the first
catholic complex of its kind in The Netherlands. It was designed by architect
E.J. Margry and was, due to the military function of Brielle, built out of wood.
An important part of the complex was the chapel with two towers. Due to the
increasing number of pilgrims a second chapel was built on the other side of the
complex in 1929-1931, where until 1572 the church of the
monastery had been.
Architect H.P.J. de Vries designed a three-aisled
pseudo-basilica in a
Traditionalist style with elements of Expressionism. Because Brielle had
lost its military function this chapel was built of brick. A typical element is
the choir, which takes the form of a tower and is closed by an undeep
three-sided apse without windows. It is distinctively higher than the nave and has tall windows on
the sides and climbing windows at the front. The architect used similar windows
later for his
church in
Leeuwarden. Due to the tall windows, the choir is the most illuminated part of the church. The nave has smaller, narrow
windows only and is much darker inside. The interior is dominated by seven tall
and wide arches. On the outside the nave is supported by six buttresses on each
side. At both of its sides the nave ends in portals in the form of
pseudo-transepts.
In 1948 the original wooden chapel was removed. It served for several years
as a temporary church in Den Haag and was finally demolished in the 1950's.
