What to See in Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands: Free Audio Guide

The best things to do in Bergen op Zoom are concentrated around a historic city center shaped by medieval monuments, churches and former religious buildings. Highlights include the Gevangenpoort, the Markiezenhof, the Gertrudiskerk and Theater De Maagd, while places farther from the center add more layers to the city’s story. Neywo offers a free audio guide for Bergen op Zoom with 16 narrated places.

Bergen op Zoom is in North Brabant, in the south of the Netherlands. Its compact collection of landmarks makes it well suited to exploring on foot, with a few additional stops that can be reached by bike.

What to see in Bergen op Zoom

Gertrudiskerk and the Grote Markt

The Gertrudiskerk stands on the Grote Markt and is one of Bergen op Zoom’s most recognizable landmarks. Its tower has the local nickname De Peperbus, meaning “the pepper mill”, a detail that connects the monument with the city’s everyday identity.

The church’s history reaches back many centuries. The oldest part visible today is the tower, dating from around 1370. The present church was completed in 1477, with a new chancel, ambulatory and vaults designed by Evert Spoorwater in the Brabantine Gothic style. A much older tradition links the site with Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, who is said to have founded a church here in 654.

Gevangenpoort

The Gevangenpoort is the oldest monument in Bergen op Zoom. Dating largely from the first half of the 14th century, it is a remarkably well-preserved example of a medieval Dutch city gate.

It is also the only city gate still remaining in Bergen op Zoom. Its survival makes it one of the essential stops for anyone interested in the city’s medieval defenses and historic urban structure.

Markiezenhof

The Markiezenhof is a late Gothic city palace that once housed the lords and later the margraves of Bergen op Zoom. It is a national cultural monument and was included in the Dutch Heritage Service’s Top 100 list in 1990.

Today, the palace hosts exhibitions and events rather than serving as a private residence. Its historic rooms therefore remain part of the city’s cultural life. Since 2003, a miniature version of the Markiezenhof has also been displayed at Madurodam in The Hague.

Theater De Maagd

On the Grote Markt, Theater De Maagd occupies a former church. The building was completed in 1829 in the neoclassical style and dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Its three-aisled interior includes Ionic columns, while the front façade and small tower were added in 1846.

Several details recall its religious past, including an 1861 high altar, stained glass and furnishings that came from the Sint-Michielsabdij in Antwerp. The main Ibach organ was installed in 1864, and a choir organ dating from around 1740 was acquired from Mol. Today, the building’s architecture gives the theater a distinctive atmosphere on the city’s main square.

The former synagogue

The former synagogue is a quiet reminder of Bergen op Zoom’s Jewish community. Built in 1832, it is one of the older Jewish religious buildings in the region.

Although it eventually ceased to function as a synagogue, the building remains part of the cityscape and adds another perspective to Bergen op Zoom’s religious and social history.

Reformed Church

The Reformed Church, known locally as the Ontmoetingskerk, is located at Bolwerk Zuid 134. It is one of the religious buildings included among the city’s historic landmarks.

Onze Lieve Vrouwe van Lourdeskerk

The Onze Lieve Vrouwe van Lourdeskerk stands on Prins Bernhardlaan, in the neighborhood of Het Fort, also known as Zeekant, south of the city center. It was built between 1926 and 1928 after the area became its own parish around 1910. A temporary church had already been established nearby at Lourdesplein in 1918.

The brick building combines Byzantine and Romanesque references with elements of brick expressionism. Its broad nave is covered by a twelve-sided dome, while the tower rises 52 meters above the neighborhood. Inside is a replica of the Marian grotto of Lourdes, arranged as a day church and devotional space.

Heilig Hart van Jezuskerk

The Heilig Hart van Jezuskerk stands at Piusplein, east of the city center. Consecrated in 1952, it was designed by A. Siebers and W. van Dael in the style of the Bossche School.

The entrance has three round arches and a lectern roof, while the main church space follows a square plan beneath an octagonal tiled dome. The building is a municipal monument. On the side facing Piusplein, a cast-concrete artwork by B.J.M. Welten depicts a reclining Christ figure with nine of the nineteen Martyrs of Gorcum, represented by monk’s robes. The artwork originally stood on the façade of the Martelaren-van-Gorcumkerk, which was demolished in 1987.

De Twee Vrienden

De Twee Vrienden is a round stone windmill on the Oude Huijbergsebaan. It is a beltmolen, or mound mill, built on an elevated base to catch the wind, and it replaced an earlier standerdmolen on the same site.

The mill has always been used as a corn mill and continues to serve that purpose. After the municipality purchased and restored it in 1982, volunteer millers kept the tradition of grinding grain alive.

More religious landmarks

Bergen op Zoom’s religious heritage extends beyond its best-known monuments. De Ark is a Protestant church at Williamstraat 7, while the Emmauskerk, at Korenberg 90, was originally built as a Catholic church.

The former Evangelisch-Lutherse kerk at Faurestraat 14 is no longer an active church, but remains a reminder of the city’s Lutheran past. The Martelaren-van-Gorcumkerk once stood at the Bolwerk and was dedicated to the Martyrs of Gorcum. The Sint-Josephkerk on Bredasestraat is another former parish church.

The former Goddelijke Voorzienigheidskerk on Van Heelulaan was a post-war modernist Catholic church designed by Harry Nefkens. Built in 1963 as a concrete hall church with a separate open bell tower, it was taken out of religious service in 2014 and demolished in 2016. Its major stained-glass window, Uitdijend Heelal, or Expanding Universe, was preserved.

Explore Bergen op Zoom with a self-guided audio tour

A Bergen op Zoom self-guided walking tour is a simple way to connect the city’s most important historic places. Neywo’s free audio guide tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages.

The app includes one walking tour, Gates, Palaces and the Pepper Mill. It covers 2.9 km in 108 minutes and has 9 narrated stops: the Gevangenpoort, Markiezenhof, Martelaren-van-Gorcumkerk, Reformed Church, Theater De Maagd, Gertrudiskerk, Synagoge, Sint-Josephkerk and Heilig Hart van Jezuskerk.

There is also one bike route, Lourdes Church to the Working Windmill. The route is 1.5 km, takes 8 minutes and has 2 narrated stops: the Onze Lieve Vrouwe van Lourdeskerk and De Twee Vrienden.

Together, the guide covers 16 narrated places. Download Neywo and explore Bergen op Zoom independently, hearing the story of each landmark when you arrive rather than following a fixed group or timetable.