Page 356 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - The Netherlands

354  SOUTHERN NE THERLANDS

Catholicism and Devotion

One of the main reasons for the differences between
Holland’s southern and northern provinces is the
marked presence of Catholicism in the south, even
in these secular times. Religious imagery is a common
sight here. The churches in the Brabant Gothic or Neo-
Gothic style are decorated flamboyantly and many
host traditional processions throughout the year.

Religious images, usually of
The Maria the Madonna and Child, are
Magdalena Chapel a common roadside sight in
(1695) in Gemert is Limburg. This one is set into the
also known as the façade of a house in Mechelen.
Spijkerkapelleke
(“nail chapel”)
because people
made offerings of
nails here in the
hopes of having
their skin disorders
cured. Every 22 July,
which is the day of
Mary Magdalene,
an open-air mass
is held here.

Decorative
carving

Candles
abound
around
images of
St Mary.

Detail from the retable of the Holy Family
in the Basilica of the Holy Sacrament in
Meerssen, Limburg. It depicts Mary, Joseph
and the infant Jesus fleeing to Egypt. This
fine altar is richly decorated with scenes
from the life of the Holy Family. The Holy
Sacrament is honoured in the church. The This tomb in the Late Romanesque/Early Gothic
host is kept in the Unique Sacramentstoren Onze-Lieve-Vrouwemunsterkerk (Minster Church
(sacrament tower) in the choir. The church of Our Lady) in Roermond dates from the 13th
itself is an example of Maasland Gothic and century. Inside the tomb lies Count Gerard van
part of it (the nave and the choir) dates from Gelre and his wife Margaretha van Brabant. At the
as far back as the 14th century. time, Roermond was part of the duchy of Gelre.

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Feature template “UK” LAYER
(SourceReport v1.3)
Date 18th October 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm