Zwolle, the capital city of the Overijssel province of the Netherlands, is the home of a bookstore that is often mentioned among the most beautiful bookstores in the Netherlands. Van der Velde Boeken, formerly Waanders In de Broeren, is housed inside a breathtaking 15th-century church building, a space where history and everyday life blend in the most effortless way.
It was a rainy summer day when a friend took me to visit the pretty city of Zwolle. We wandered its cobbled streets, gripping our umbrellas as the wind tried its best to flip them inside out. When we entered the beautiful bookstore, we felt surrounded by a peaceful feeling. I’m not sure if it was the church setting, the shelves of books, or simply the relief of escaping the storm (probably a mix of all three), but a calm settled over us. We wandered slowly, soaked in the atmosphere, and honestly didn’t feel like leaving at all.
This is no ordinary bookstore: a 15th century cathedral called the Broerenkerk was transformed into a modern shop. The design of the current bookstore is the work of BK. Architecten, who added 3 floors and arranged the shopping space avoiding any alteration to the building. That means you can admire the arched ceilings, the stained glass windows, the chandeliers and the pipe organ while shopping for books.
A bit of history of The Broerenkerk
The Broerenkerk construction was started by the Dominicans in 1466 and finished in 1512. It originally had a two-aisled nave and a single choir. In 1580, Zwolle went through looting and bouts of iconoclasm, and the Dominicans were chased away. The church fell into disrepair until 1640, when it was taken into use by the Protestants. Since 1982, it has belonged to the municipality and has served different purposes.
In 2013, the Broerenkerk got a new life as a bookstore, called Waanders In de Broeren at that time. The church’s real treasure is its painted vaulted ceiling, discovered during the 1983 restoration. There are 139 paintings from the early 1500s, showing saints, scenes from Christ’s life, local coats of arms, and floral motifs. Since the 2013 transformation, visitors can admire these paintings up close, which is truly special. The original organ in the Broerenkerk, built by the Zwolle organ builder J.C. Scheuer and, is still there, and, after all these years, remains almost entirely in its original condition and still regularly played.
Some weird facts…
In the church’s crypt lie the remains of “Hermen,” a man who lived around 1400. His discovery turned an archaeological dig into a bit of a mystery case. A lifelike reconstruction of him is displayed on the third floor. His story also reminds us of the more than 5,000 people once buried in the church.
The bookstore building houses a brasserie where you can stop for coffee and cake, and also the Zwolle Tourist Information Office, which you can visit to ask for info or book a tour. There are events organised in the bookstore, from lectures and signing sessions to game nights for young and old. So, the former church is quite a cultural centre in the city nowadays. I love how a space that once united people through faith now does something similar through books and culture, still serving the community, just in a new form.
We spent some time browsing through the books, visited the small exhibition, gazing from time to time at the saints’ images on the walls and when we were done, we stopped at the café for an apple pie and a hot chocolate.
If you visit Zwolle, don’t miss this place! I’m sure you will love it.
Note. This article was originally published in 2018 and updated in 2025. The photos are from 2018.
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