Sint Jozefskapel

The only pilgrimage site of Saint Joseph in the Netherlands can be found in Smakt. The Chapel of St. Joseph has been part of this pilgrimage complex since the seventeenth century. This part of Gelre had remained Catholic during the Eighty Years' War, because the Overkwartier was in the hands of the Spaniards. Particularly in places like Smakt, which were on the border, extra investments were made in religious facilities. In this way Catholic Dutch living in the Protestant Republic of the Seven United Netherlands could visit churches and other holy places just across the border.