The Nieuwe Kerk (; en, New Church) is a

Dutch Baroque Dutch Baroque architecture is a variety of Baroque architecture that flourished in the Dutch Republic and its colonies during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. (Dutch painting during the period is covered by Dutch Golden Age painting). L ...

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, located across from the modern city hall on the

Spui A single-point urban interchange (SPUI, or ), also called a single-point interchange (SPI) or single-point diamond interchange (SPDI), is a type of highway interchange. The design was created in order to help move large volumes of traffic thro ...

. It was built in 1649 after the

Great Church The term "Great Church" ( la, ecclesia magna) is used in the historiography of early Christianity to mean the period of about 180 to 313, between that of primitive Christianity and that of the legalization of the Christian religion in the Roman E ...

had become too small. Construction was completed in 1656.

History

The church was designed by the architect Peter Noorwits,

Rijksmonument A rijksmonument (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands ...

report who was assisted by the painter and architect

Bartholomeus van Bassen Bartholomeus Corneliszoon van Bassen (1590–1652) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and architect. Biography Van Bassen was the illegitimate son of Cornelis van Bassen and the grandson of Bartholt Ernst van Bassen, who both lived and died in T ...

. The church is considered a highlight of the early Protestant church architecture in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Like many churches of that time was the New Church, a central building. Unlike other central building, the church is no simple circular or multifaceted plan but there is a space of two octagonal sections which are connected by a slightly smaller proportion in which the pulpit was prepared. The

Dutch Baroque architecture Dutch Baroque architecture is a variety of Baroque architecture that flourished in the Dutch Republic and its colonies during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. (Dutch painting during the period is covered by Dutch Golden Age painting). Li ...

of the church shows elements of both

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and

Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

. Two church bells by Coenraat Wegewaert in 1656 hang in their original bell-chairs, 100,2 cm and 81,5 cm in diameter. He also designed the clock. The church has an organ built by the Dutch organ builder Johannes Duyschot (1645-1725) in 1702. The construction has left most of the pipework and the case. The organ was rebuilt in 1867 by one of the best organ builders of that time, the business of Christian Gottlieb Friedrich Witte. They adjusted the design of the organ to make it suitable for modern

Romantic music Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—the ...

. Up until these canals in The Hague were filled in at the end of the 19th century, the church was accessed by boat or from the Wagenstraat on a square island between the Spui river, the St. Anthonisburgwal or Rotterdam Veerkade (the old

trekschuit Trekschuit (, literally ''"tug-boat"'', but true meaning ''"tugged-boat"'') is an old style of sail- and horse-drawn boat specific to the Netherlands, where it was used for centuries as a means of passenger traffic between cities along ''trekv ...

route to Rotterdam), the Stille Veerkade or Amsterdam Veerkade (the old trekschuit route to Amsterdam), and the Paviljoensgracht.

Concert hall

In the 20th century, acoustical adjustments were made to the interior in a modern face. In the thirties the church was notable as the most impressive building on the Spui, which was one of the streets in the Dutch game of

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

. The church was closed in 1969 after a long restoration and reopened as a concert hall.

Famous burials

The Nieuwe Kerk, or new church (first half 17th century), contains the tombs of the brothers De Witt and of the philosopher

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

. Spinoza's tomb is in the churchyard.

References

{{Coord, 52, 04, 35, N, 4, 18, 54, E, region:NL_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Baroque architecture in the Netherlands Baroque church buildings Buildings of the Dutch Golden Age Churches in The Hague Netherlandish Baroque art Octagonal churches Protestant churches in the Netherlands Religious buildings and structures completed in 1656 Rijksmonuments in The Hague