In plain view from Centraal Station, the magnificent cupola and neo-Renaissance towers belong to the city's main Catholic church, the first to be built (between 1884 and 1887) after Catholic worship became legal again in the 19th century. As St Nicholas is the patron saint of seafarers, the church became an important symbol for Amsterdam.
The interior is notable for its high altar, the theatrical crown of Emperor Maximilian I and depictions of the Stations of the Cross, on which tireless painter Jan Dunselman laboured for 40 years.
