#fridaywindow The beautiful windows of the St. Jacobus de Meerdere church in The Hague, a neo-Gothic church built between 1875 and 1878. The windows are magnificent, but just as impressive are the paintings on the walls, ceilings, and pillars. The pillars appear to be made of stone, but in reality, they were painted on. It's incredibly beautifully done and looks realistic. It was the first Catholic church permitted to be visible in the streetscape at that time. While there were Catholic churches, they were not permitted to be visible. The city council allocated a small plot, but Pierre Cuypers, a renowned architect known for Amsterdam Central Station and the Rijksmuseum, built the church very tall and employed all sorts of tricks to maximize the surface area and make the church appear larger than it actually was. The tower became the tallest in The Hague. Partly due to the expensive painting, the St. Jacob's Church was the most expensive Dutch church of the 19th century. But a century later, in 1960, there was significant deferred maintenance, and the church was threatened with closure. This was met with widespread protest, and restoration was therefore decided upon. In 1970, the church was declared a listed building, which led to state funding, allowing restoration to begin. Between 2000 and 2010, the interior of the church and the tower were restored for €10 million, preserving this magnificent church in all its splendor for posterity. #thehague #denhaag #nederland #fensterfreitag #colorfulwindows #windows #church #historic #history #catholicchurches #photography #photo #fediverse #fridaywindows #travel