St. John's Cathedral ('s-Hertogenbosch)

Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Evangelist
St. John's Cathedral
Basic information
Location	's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Geographic coordinates
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Province	North Brabant
District	bishopric of 's-Hertogenbosch
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Cathedral
Heritage designation	Rijksmonument
Website	http://www.sint-jan.nl
Architectural style	Gothic
Groundbreaking	1220
Completed	1530
Specifications
Capacity	1500
Length	115 meters (377 ft 3.6 in)
Width	62 meters (203 ft 4.9 in)
Height (max)	73 meters (239 ft 6.0 in)
Materials	33 types of natural stone and brick

File:St-Jan exterieur.jpg

St-Jan 's-Hertogenbosch

File:Statuette Flying buttress Sint Jan Den Bosch-2.jpg

Statuette on one of the cathedral's flying buttresses

The pipe organ of the cathedral was built by Heyeman between 1617 and 1621

File:Sj ceiling.jpg

Interior of the crossing tower of St. John's Cathedral

File:Angel with Mobile Phone.jpg

Angel with Mobile Phone

The Roman Catholic Cathedral Church of St. John (Sint-Janskathedraal) of 's-Hertogenbosch, North Brabant is the height of gothic architecture in the Netherlands. It has an extensive and richly decorated interior, and serves as the cathedral for the bishopric of 's-Hertogenbosch.

The cathedral has a total length of 115 metres (377 ft) and a width of 62 metres (203 ft). Its tower reaches 73 metres (240 ft) high; the largest catholic church in the Netherlands.

St. John’s Cathedral is a so-called ‘Kanjermonument’ (whopper-monument, loosely translated) and being such, it receives financial support from the Dutch government.

In 1985, it received the honorary title of Basilica Minor from Pope John Paul II.

History

Originally, the cathedral was built as a parish church and was dedicated to St. John Evangelist. In 1366 it became a collegiate church, and in 1559 it became the cathedral of the new diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch. After 1629, when the city was conquered by the Protestants and Catholicism was banned, a Protestant minority used the church, which came to be in a heavily dilapidated state. When Napoleon visited the town in 1810, he restored the building to the Catholics.

A Romanesque church used to stand on the spot where the St. John now resides. Its construction is thought to have started in 1220 and was finished in 1340. Around 1340, building began to extend the church, from which its current gothic style came. The transept and choir were finished in 1450. In 1505, the romanesque church was largely demolished, leaving only its tower. Construction of the gothic St. John was finished about the year 1525.

In the year 1584, a fire broke out in the high wooden crossing tower, more majestic than the current one. Soon the whole tower was set ablaze, and it collapsed upon the cathedral itself, taking with it much of the roof up to point where the organ was situated. In 1830, another fire damaged the western tower, which was repaired by 1842.

Underneath the clock tower there is a carillon. The clockwork can be found at the top of the Romanesque tower.

Restorations

The first restoration of the cathedral lasted from 1859 to 1946. A second attempt at restoration was executed from 1961 to 1985. The third and most recent restoration started in 1998 and was completed in 2010, costing more than 48 million euro. Major parts of the building are once again covered by scaffolding erected for restoration of the outer stonework, but also, ironically, to remedy mistakes made by earlier restoration attempts.

Angel with a mobile phone

During the restoration 25 new angels statues had been created by sculptor Ton Mooy, including the one with a modern twist. The last angel in the series holds a mobile phone and also wears jeans. "The phone has just one button, says the artist. – It dials directly to God". The mobile-using angel had to be first approved by the cathedral's fathers, who rejected earlier designs with the jet engines on the angel's back.

The Organ

The large organ in St. John's Cathedral is one of the most important organs of the Netherlands. The organ case of this organ is one of the most monumental of the Renaissance in the Netherlands.

This organ has a long history that begins with the construction in the period 1618-1638 by Floris Hocque II, Hans Goltfuss and Germer van Hagerbeer. The rood loft and the organ case were built by Frans Simons, a carpenter who probably came from Leiden. The sculpture of the organ case was carved by Gregor Schysler from Tyrol, who, however, like Floris Hocque, was originally from Cologne.

The organ was renovated, expanded and improved in past centuries by several organ builders, according to the latest fashions. The last renovation took place in 1984 and was conducted by the Flentrop firm. The organ was restored to about the situation of 1787, as the German organ builder A.G.F. Heyneman left it. Use is made of many pipes of that era, but also of pipes from later periods. In late 2003 the organ was thoroughly cleaned.

I Rugpositief C–f3 Praestant 8′ Bourdon 8′ Quintadena 8′ Fluyttravers 8′ Octaaf 4′ Fluyt dous 4′ Super Octaaf 2′ Flageolet 1′ Mixtuur V Sexquialter II Trompet 8′ Dulciaan 8′ Tremulant

II Hoofdwerk C–f3 Praestant 16′ Bourdon 16′ Praestant 8′ Holpyp 8′ Octaaf 4′ Teriaan 31/5′ Quint 3′ Super Octaaf 2′ Mixtuur VII Trompet 16′ Trompet 8′

III Bovenwerk C–f3 Quintadena 16′ Praestant 8′ Roerfluyt 8′ Viola di Gamba 8′ Octaaf 4′ Open fluyt 4′ Quintfluyt 3′ Open fluyt 2′ Super Octaaf 2′ Sexquialter II Carillon III Cornet V Trompet 8′ Vox Humana 8′ Hautbois 8′ Tremulant

Pedaal C–f1 Praestant 32′ Praestant 16′ Bourdon 16′ Octaaf 8′ Gedekt 8′ Octaaf 4′ Bazuyn 16′ Trompet 8′ Clairon 4′ Cornet 2′

See also

• Brabantine Gothic

External links

• Official website of the St. John's Cathedral (Dutch)
• Sounds of the St. John's Cathedral