Bedevaartkerk (Pilgrimage Church)

After the Sea Beggars had fiercely driven off the Spanish on 1 April 1572, a group of nineteen clergymen from Gorcum who had been taken prisoner were hanged on 9 July of that same year in the peat shed of a monastery just outside Brielle. The execution was carried out on the orders of the Sea Beggar Admiral Lumey, after the clergymen had refused to renounce their faith. 

In 1880, a wooden church was built on the same spot, making Brielle a pilgrimage site. 

The wooden church was replaced by a stone walkway in 1932. It's a unique complex which still attracts many pilgrims every year, in particular on 9 July, the anniversary and memorial day of the Martyrs of Gorcum.

The church is open every afternoon from 13:00 to 17:00 in July and August (except Mondays and Saturdays). Outside the pilgrimage season, groups can visit the church by appointment.

For more information, go to: www.martelarenvangorcum.nl