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Neerijnen (G): reformed church (A.M.A. Gulden, 1865)

This small single-aisled cruciform church with built-in tower is a good example of a protestant church in early neo-Gothic style. Although influences from Gothicism are present here in abundance, the result as a whole is a far cry from both actual Gothic and the more history-based neo-Gothic that was emerging in the same period. This church was probably designed by A.M.A. Gulden, town-architect of Zaltbommel, obviously not an experienced builder of churches, although he did also design the church of nearby Haaften in 1851, also in early neo-Gothic style.

By 1865, when this church was built, Gothic architecture had been studied by several architects and investigators, but only a handful of (catholic) architects had put this knowledge to good use. Other architects were struggling to get their churches to look authentic. The architect of this church appears not even to have tried that. His church is plastered and has plastered wooden vaults. The various shapes are undeniably influenced by Gothic, but otherwise there is absolutely nothing here that reminds of medieval Gothic churches in the Netherlands.

Originally the church was painted yellow ochre, a colour which was replaced by white during a restoration in 1981. The yellow colour returned in 2004, when the church was once again restored. The pictures on this page were made in 2002 and 2023 and thus show both situations.  

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

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