The Aa-kerk (also: A-kerk) is a historic former parish church in the centre of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

, and a dominant feature in the skyline of the city together with the nearby

Martinitoren The ''Martinitoren'' (; Martini or St. Martin's Tower) is the tallest church steeple in the city of Groningen, Netherlands, and the bell tower of the Martinikerk. The tower is located at the north-eastern corner of the ''Grote Markt'' (Main Ma ...

History

Before the construction of the current church, a chapel dedicated to

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

(patron saint of fishermen) stood on this site. The chapel was situated close to the river Aa, where

bargee Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

s cast off vessels in the western harbour ( Westerhaven). The chapel became a parish church in the year 1247 and was named "Chapel of Our Lady at the river Aa" (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe ter Aa-kerk). At this time, Groningen consisted of two centres, each surrounding a religious edifice, the Church of Our Lady at the river Aa being one of them. Fishermen and tradesmen inhabited the area around this chapel. The chapel was transformed into a brick gothic church between 1425 and 1495. Both the interior and exterior have been altered many times over the course of history due to the iconoclasm during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, war damage ( Siege of Groningen) and natural phenomena (lightning strike). Today it is used as a venue for concerts, theatre, exhibitions, parties and meetings. Church services are no longer held.

Towers

Images of the Siege of Groningen in 1672 show the Aa-kerk without the top of the tower. After the war a new wooden tower top was built. On 23 April 1710, the tower spontaneously collapsed killing two people. In 1711, a new tower was built. The current tower contains three bells with the notes of F#, D# and B, which are rung manually, using ropes. They were all cast by Crans of Enckhuysen in 1714.

Organs

In 1667, an organ was built by

Van Hagerbeer A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across ...

. It was destroyed by fire in 1671. The first Schnitger organ in the church was built by

Arp Schnitger Arp Schnitger (2 July 164828 July 1719 (buried)) was an influential Northern German organ builder. Considered the most paramount manufacturer of his time, Schnitger built or rebuilt over 150 organs. He was primarily active in Northern Europe, es ...

in 1697 (see gallery for a sketch). In 1710, the tower of the church collapsed and the organ was destroyed. The second Schnitger was built in 1702, originally for the Broerkerk in Groningen. In 1815, the organ was transferred to the Aa-kerk. The Bolsward organ build by

Raphael Rodensteen The Rodensteen family (also given as Raphaëlis, Rottstein, and Rottenstein-Pock) were a Dutch family of organ builders active during the 16th century. Documents from the family's work, particularly those made by Hermann Rodensteen (died 9 July 158 ...

in 1550 was originally for the Martinikerk in

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded on thr ...

. In 1635, the organ was transferred to the Broerkerk in Groningen and in 1877 it was transferred back to the Martinikerk in Bolsward. In 1991, it was transferred again to Groningen and the Aa-kerk.

Photo gallery.

File:Groningen (stad), Der Aa-kerk in Groningen. 13-06-2022. (actm.) 01.jpg, Entrance to the church through the tower. (West side). File:Groningen (stad), Der Aa-kerk in Groningen. 13-06-2022. (actm.) 04.jpg, Entrance to the church. (Northside) File:Groningen (stad), Der Aa-kerk in Groningen. 13-06-2022. (actm.) 08.jpg, View of the tower. (from the East) File:Groningen (stad), Der Aa-kerk in Groningen. 13-06-2022. (actm.) 06.jpg, Brick buttress. (Northwest side)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aa-Kerk Buildings and structures in Groningen (city) Churches in Groningen (province) Rijksmonuments in Groningen (province)