When the old St Peter's was demolished in 1645/46 the debris was bought by the municipality.

It was occupied by the French army, which made it a bakery, and storage for hay, and a stable.

In 1810 Napoleon Bonaparte made the church available to serve the French garrison.

[2] In the mid nineteenth century the Dutch government agency Rijkswaterstaat was tasked with paying for, managing and overseeing the construction of a long list of churches.

[3] Like many other Waterstaat Churches the construction of St. Catherine's proved to be not that durable.

Architect Jan Stuyt would draw inspiration from a trip to Istanbul, where he had seen the Hagia Sophia.

He re-used the existing foundations of the Waterstaat church, and left the old choir intact.

Two stair towers flank the western façade, in the center of which is a statue of St.

The organ, built in 1849-1851 by J. and J.J. Vollebregt, was transferred to the new church in a somewhat different form.

Its mannerism façade with sandstone and chalk was restored in 1995-1997, and is reminiscent of a southern Netherlands style.