Take a look around you and try to picture this spot over a century ago. Imagine the tall, striking silhouette of St. Michael’s Church, its 79-meter tower stretching up to the sky, capped by an octagonal lantern and a slender spire that must have made nearby birds rethink their flight paths. You’re standing where Zwolle’s growing Catholic community once gathered in awe, surrounded by the scents of candles and the echo of prayers under soaring cross-ribbed vaults.
But the story of St. Michael’s is as dramatic as any soap opera. The very first St. Michael’s Church was Catholic, but when the Reformation stormed through, the Protestants took over. Catholics were forced to worship in hidden “schuilkerken”-secret churches, because praying openly was frowned upon. Fast forward to 1841, and a new church finally opened its doors. But tell a Catholic community they can’t stop growing and, sure enough, by the late 1800s it was getting rather ‘cozy’ in there.
So, in 1890, architect Nicolaas Molenaar Sr. designed a magnificent neo-Gothic hall church, which made everyone forget about ‘cozy’ and start thinking ‘cathedral!’ The pride of the church was the glorious relic shrine of Thomas à Kempis, housed in a breathtaking eight-meter-high monument crafted by the firm F.W. Mengelberg. And in 1926, the air began to vibrate with the deep notes of Joseph Adema’s organ from Amsterdam.
Sadly, modernity marched in. By 1963, churches were out, shopping centers were in. Despite the protests (and let’s face it, some heroic attempts to save the iconic tower), it was demolished in 1965. Today, shops sit where the faithful once sang-though the space is currently empty, as even Hudson’s Bay has departed.
But legends never disappear. The organ plays on, now in Raalte, and the Thomas à Kempis shrine found shelter in Zwolle's Basilica of Our Lady. This corner of Roggenstraat may look different, but if you listen closely-well, you just might hear echoes of celestial music in the wind.
