Basilica of Oudenbosch

In the 1860s the parish priest of Oudenbosch, Willem Hellemons, wanted a church that would mean something to the young men leaving this district to serve as Zouaves in the papal army - about three thousand Dutchmen volunteered to defend the Papal States, more than from any other country - and what he commissioned from Pierre Cuypers was a copy of St Peter's in Rome at roughly a third of the size, with a facade modelled on San Giovanni in Laterano rather than St Peter's own. It was built between 1865 and 1892. Inside, the proportions, the barrel vault, the dome and the marble are all Roman in reference, executed in a Dutch village of a few thousand people, which produces a genuine double-take on entering. There is a Zouave museum in the town covering the volunteers and their fate. Cuypers went on to build the Rijksmuseum.

What you actually see

• St Peter's at a third scale - copied in a Brabant village between 1865 and 1892.
• A Lateran facade - the front modelled on San Giovanni rather than St Peter's.
• A Roman interior in Brabant - barrel vault, dome and marble at village scale.
• The Zouave museum - the Dutch volunteers who fought for the Papal States.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The church closes during services. The Zouave museum keeps limited hours and closes on Mondays. The town around it is small and ordinary. It is a copy, and knowingly so.

Nearby

Willemstad is north; Roosendaal and the Belgian border are south.