St. Anthony's Church

The Sint-Antoniuskathedraal, or Cathedral of Saint Anthony of Padua, is the seat of the Roman Catholic bishop of Breda and the main Catholic church of the city. It stands on the Sint Janstraat, in the centre, and it is a neoclassical building that contrasts with the Gothic style of most of the older churches in the Netherlands. Built in the 1830s, it belongs to a period when Catholics in the country were regaining the right to build large public churches after centuries of restriction.

The church was built in 1837 and designed by the architect Peter Huijsers. It is classified as a waterstaatskerk, a type of church built under the supervision of the state waterstaat, the government department for public works, which approved the designs and sometimes helped to fund the buildings. These churches were erected in the early nineteenth century for communities that had been without proper buildings, and they tend to have a restrained neoclassical look with a clear, symmetrical plan. The architectural language is drawn from ancient Greece and Rome, with columns of the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders, a pediment and a calm, rational interior.

The building became a cathedral in the nineteenth century, when the Catholic hierarchy was re-established and the diocese of Breda was created. The bishop has his seat here, and the church is used for major religious celebrations as well as the daily life of the parish. Inside, the space is light and spacious, with columns, a dome or vaulted ceiling and decorated altars. The atmosphere is calm, and visitors who enter quietly are welcome, though the church may be closed during services or at certain times of day.

Breda has plenty of other sights nearby. The Grote or Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk, with its tall Gothic tower, is the city's most famous landmark, and the Kasteel van Breda, now a military academy, is an impressive seventeenth-century building with a star-shaped moat. The Prinsenhof, the old residence of the princes of Orange-Nassau, the town hall and the Broek district with its old houses provide plenty to see. The Breda Jazz Festival draws crowds each year.

The cathedral suits visitors interested in architecture, religious history and quiet spaces. Check opening times and respect services. Combine it with a stroll through the old town and a stop at a cafe on the Grote Markt.