Witweg: Breda

A glorious day: blue sky, sun and around freezing point. Such a bonus after the months of darkness, drizzle and misery. I had promised myself a day out, and it was the perfect day for it. I love medieval choir stalls with the misericords carved out of oak, and had been to several towns in Belgium to admire them, but I had never been to the church in Breda, which is a beautiful example of Gothic architecture of the Netherlands, and has wonderful misericords.

One of the modern misericords

Admittedly many are defaced, either by iconoclasm which also struck here in 1566, vandalism or negligence, but they are worth seeing. There are even several modern ones, added much later. Apart from the choir stalls, there is a magnificent organ built against the west wall.

Details of the pipe organ

As the church is no longer regularly used for worship, the nave is empty and the beautiful blue floor tiles add character to the interior. Breda was the seat of the Princes of "Orange-Nassau", the forebears of our Dutch royals, and many of those princes were interred her. So the church also houses many elaborate tombs. In the sixteenth century a special chapel was built, the "Princely Chapel". The vaulted ceiling was beautifully decorated in blue and gold.

A tryptich by the well-known Jan van Scorel which is still present was situated behind the altar. The monument was built for Engelbrecht II of Nassau and his wife, by his son Henry III of Nassau. To me it seemed unusual that the couple is lying there in what looks like simple shrouds instead of formal and ornamental attire. Is it because they wanted to stress that we are all equal in death and that neither rank nor wealth makes any difference?

Since it was such a sunny day, the church was flooded with light which showed off all the subtle colours, the gold and the blue.

Another place worth seeing is the Beguinage.

Below: reflection of the church in a window of one of the houses

Just an picturesque corner in the Beguinage

It is walled in, and so protected from wind. There are regular services in the little church or chapel, but when I was there in the early morning, I could only see the interior through a glass partition. The pictures are not much good, as I could not avoid my reflection in the glass. It is quite a large Beguinage, with several water pumps. It must have been good to live here, protected and well cared for. And I guess it still is. The Eglise Wallone is also part of this Beguinage, but the oxblood red doors were firmly closed and I could not even peep through a glass door or window. The history is rather fascinating. The Eglise Wallone originally was the church of the Beguinage. But it was taken away, and the entrance was moved to the street, the original doors walled in.

Eglise Wallone. The white blob is smoke coming from a hidden chimney

In fact it left the women living in the Beguinage without a church. Their new church which now forms a focal point dates from 1838 and a priest, Pater van Zon, was the driving force behind the building plans. He had a vicarage built next to the church in 1850. So over the ages quite a lot has changed here.

Another corner in the Beguinage

It was difficult at any time of the day to take good pictures, as the contrast between light and shade was so stark.

My next stop was the Museum of Breda, just outside the centre, to see an exhibition of paintings by Petrus van Schendel (1806-1870), a Dutch romantic artist and a master of night scenes, especially outdoor markets which were lit by candles. Light and shade fascinated him. He was internationally famous, won many prizes during his working life, and even kings and queens bought his paintings. I never knew there were night or evening markets in the Netherlands in the nineteenth century, or at any other time. But the backgrounds were realistic, and can be traced to market squares in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague, towns where he lived for some years.

Two of the paintings by Petrus van Schendel, from the flyer.

The paintings were very atmospheric, but after so many candle lit market scenes, I got a bit tired of them. Nevertheless it was an exhibition well-worth seeing, even a revelation.

I retraced my steps and had something to eat and drink in an amazing cafe-restaurant in the market square. Apparently that too had won a prize, for its remarkable and attractive interior. It is in an old building, and as the Christmas trees and decorations were still there, it looked very festive indeed.

The exterior of the church, and the tower seen from one of the narrow shopping streets.

Days are not very long at this time in January, which is just as well, as my feet needed a rest, and the battery of my camera died on me, just when the light faded. Time to take a train back home and relax.

Some details from the church in Breda: