Eys
(L): St. Agatha (J.C. Schlaun, 1732-1734)
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Until
1795 Eys belonged to the county of the Plettenberg family which resided
at the castle in nearby Wittem. Because the county was an autonomous
part of the German empire the catholic religion was never prohibited,
reason why in Eys one of only a very few parish churches in the
Netherlands in Baroque style could be built.
Johann Conrad Schlaun, an architect from the German city of Munster,
was still working on the church of the monastery in Wittem when count
Ferdinand van Plettenberg gave him the assignment for a new parish
church in Eys to replace an older one. Like the church in Wittem it was
built in a Baroque
style more typical for the Munster area. It was built mostly of brick,
with a sparse use of natural stone for details only. The one-aisled
nave has rounded recesses at its corners, as has the rectangular choir.
Undeep rectangular recesses decorate all the walls. On top of the tower
is an elegant helmet-roof with spire.
The church was restored in 1934-1935. During this restoration lateral
chapels, designed by M. N. Ramakers, were added to both sides of the
choir, in a style similar to that of the rest of the church.
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