The new church of St. Nicholas is among the better known of the ‘new’ Amsterdam churches. The tall and spacious building occupies a prominent place in the city centre, opposite the Central Station and is a rare example of the neo-Baroque style.

Most ‘new’ Roman Catholic Churches, in Holland as well as in other European countries, were built in the neo-Gothic style promoted by Viollet-le-Duc in France, Pugin in England and Cuypers in Holland. Neo-Gothic architecture referred back to the heyday of medieval French Catholicism and its world-famous cathedrals. Therefore, it is all the more remarkable that the architects of the church of St. Nicholas based themselves largely on the international Baroque style.