The iconic Peperbus of St. Gertrude's Church in Bergen op Zoom offers more than a beautiful view.

The Peperbus is centuries old. You can taste and see that, especially if you take the 183 steps up to the gallery. You climb through the ages and are rewarded at the top with the carillon's chime and the ringing of the bells. But even more so by your view of the city lying at your feet.
It is especially here that you can taste the beauty of the old town.

Visit the newly refurbished Tower Room
Halfway up the Peperbus climb, there's a room so beautiful it would be a shame not to show it to visitors. And not to forget: a visit to the Tower Room also offers visitors the opportunity to take a brief moment of rest during the climb to the top.

The “Torenkamer” project began with an idea from a few enthusiastic people and has grown into a true metamorphosis of the Torenkamer. Iwan Koolen was responsible for the design.

The work of Willebrord Snellius will be given an important place in the tower room.
Snellius developed land surveying in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century. In the years 1615-1616, he stood atop our Peperbus to perform triangulation measurements. He thus accurately calculated the Earth's circumference in a scientific manner for the first time. He determined this using a gigantic quadrant, a quarter-circle, with a radius of over 2 metres. Later, his calculation of the Earth's circumference turned out to be almost exact.

For the NTR programme ‘Jekels Jacht’, the quadrant of Snellius was recreated. To the great delight of the project group, the makers have donated this quadrant to be displayed in the tower room of the Peperbus.

Beside the quadrant, hanging in the high space of the tower room, is a large globe, made up of mirrored triangles. A large central staircase leads you to the symbolic “Heaven's Gate”, a triangle of mirrors that gives an infinitely repeating image of the visitor. The idea behind this is that visitors can reflect on themselves in this place, share their stories, make new plans for their lives, or leave burdens behind.

For safety reasons, children under 5 years of age and/or smaller than 1 metre are not allowed to climb the Peperbus.

Would you like to climb the Peperbus and Tower room visit, but have mobility issues? Then you can make use of a virtual guided tour with one VR headset.
You can find more information here.

Opening hours

The Peperbus is open for climbing every weekend.
Opening hours
Saturday: 1:00 PM-4:30 PM
Sunday: 13:00-16:30.

For more information and reservations, see the Website of the city guides

Admission is free for children up to 12 years old, other visitors €5.00

Entrance Great Market Bergen op Zoom