Herveld (G): reformed church
The reformed church of Herveld, which of course originally was a cartholic church and was dedicated to St. Willibrord until the Reformation, was built as a pseudo-basilica in ca. 1300 and replaced a smaller tuff building, small fragments of which remain in the chancel arch. Later in the 14th century a sort of transept was added, which is believed could also have been a choir with lateral chapels and a straight east wall. The current polygonal apse was built in ca. 1400.
In the 15th century the side-aisles and the transept were elevated to the same level as the nave, transforming the church into a hall church. Although the former transept now had become the eastern trave of the side-aisles it retained its seperate roof.
The tower was built at the end of the 15th century and is ornamented with lines of tuff and the blind niches that are typical for Lower Rhine Gothic.
The church has aged quite well, despite a fire in 1798 destroyed the interior. But while in September 1944 Herveld lay close to the front line in the aftermath of the failed operation Market Garden, the church survived the war with a few scratches, unlike for instance nearby Elst. However in 1947, while war damage was being repaired, a careless plumber caused a second fire, which ravaged the inside of the tower and caused damage inside the nave as well. The church was restored in 1949-1953, the tower in 1957-1958.
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