Catholic Church in the Netherlands to be converted into a swimming pool

The former Roman Catholic church in Heerlen will become a public pool. Photo: archdaily

In the Dutch city of Heerlen, the Church of St. Francis of Assisi will be transformed into a public swimming pool.

The church, built over a century ago, ceased holding services in 2023 due to declining attendance. The architectural firms MVRDV and Zecc Architecten won the bid for its redevelopment, and construction is expected to be completed by 2027.

The renovation project has been provocatively nicknamed “Holy Water.” The church pews will be repurposed as poolside seating, while the former pulpit will be converted into a lifeguard station.

“The vacancy rate of churches is increasing, so we need to come up with new, creative ideas for what we can do with these buildings,” said Winy Maas, co-founder of MVRDV.

“Why not give these churches a social function again, as they used to have? A public swimming pool is ideally suited for this. Imagine swimming the backstroke with a view of a church vault and stained-glass windows.”

As previously reported by the UOJ, churches in the Netherlands are increasingly being converted into bars and bookstores.

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