The Westerkerk (; en, Western Church) is a Reformed church within

Dutch Protestant The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

in central

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, Netherlands. It lies in the most western part of the Grachtengordel neighborhood ( Centrum borough), next to the

Jordaan The Jordaan is a neighbourhood of the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is part of the borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The area is bordered by the Singelgracht canal and the neighbourhood of Frederik Hendrikbuurt to the west; the Prinsengra ...

, between the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht.

History

The Westerkerk was built between 1620 and 1631 in Renaissance style according to designs by architect

Hendrick de Keyser Hendrick de Keyser (15 May 1565 – 15 May 1621) was a Dutch sculptor, merchant in Belgium bluestone, and architect who was instrumental in establishing a late Renaissance form of Mannerism changing into Baroque. Most of his works appeared in Ams ...

. He is buried in the church he designed earlier: the 'Zuiderkerk'. The building of the Westerkerk was finished and completed by his son Pieter de Keyser and inaugurated on June 8, 1631. The church has a length of and a width of . The high nave is flanked by the two lower aisles. The three-aisled basilica has a rectangular plan with two transepts of equal dimensions. As a result, the plan for this church was given the form of two Greek crosses connected with each other. (a patriarchal cross). Several older churches in Amsterdam, such as Oude Kerk and Nieuwe Kerk, were originally built before the Reformation and were converted to Protestantism during the Reformation in 1578. The Westerkerk was one of the first purposely built Protestant churches. The Noorderkerk and Zuiderkerk preceded the Westerkerk. Today the Westerkerk remains the largest church in the Netherlands that was built for Protestants, and is still in use by the PKN (Protestantse Kerk in Nederland)

Main Duyschot organ

There was no organ when the Westerkerk was consecrated on Pentacost sunday, June 8th 1631 In accordance to Calvinistic belief at that time instrumental music in the church was considered profane in those days. It took many years of deliberation until an organ was finally allowed. At first there was still talk of moving the small organ (koororgel) used in the Nieuwe- or the 'Oudekerk' but the pipes of this 'Oudekerk' choir organ were finally moved to the 'Zuiderkerk'. In 1681 the Westerkerk decided to commission the organ builder Roelof Barentszn Duyschot for the construction of a new organ. Roelof Barentszn Duyschot died before the organ was completed. His son finished the commission in 1686. Later, in 1727, the console was enlarged with a third manuel by Christiaan Vater who learned his profession through

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 ...

. Many alterations were done on the organ in the course of time. In the 19th century in 1895 a rebuild of the inside of the organ took place by Daniel Gerard Steenkuyl. Lucky enough many of the old pipes and the wind chests were re-used. In 1939, the keyboard was equipped with electric tracker action and even a swell work was added. It was not what this organ was intended to be in sound and action. The organ was almost doubled in size, but was also too big for its case. So between 1989 and 1992 the organ was reconstructed by Flentrop organ builders in

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan, just north of Amsterdam. The statistical district Zaa ...

to its former mechanical action again more or less like Christiaan Vater made it in 1727. Today the 'bovenwerk' (Oberwerk, located in the top of the organ case) is still almost complete with stops by Vater. An exception is the 'baarpyp', which is made by Steenkuyl in 1896 and the 'Dulciaan' which is made by Flentrop in 1992. The front pipes were made in 1842 by Hermanus Knipscheer. The situation after 1992 was that less than half of the pipes are historic and re-used in the 'hoofdwerk' (Great organ) and the 'Rugwerk' (Chaire organ). The manuels and stop triggers beside this mechanical baroque organ are located in the main case behind this 'rugwerk'. For this kind of baroque organs, it is characteristic that many of the stops, mainly the principals, are doubled in the trebles. This was set up to create more power in leading the congregation in their psalm singing. For complex organ works one or even two stop assistants are necessary for triggering the stops. During the restoration of the inside of the church between 2018 and 2020, the inside of the organ was taken to Zaandam at Flentrop Orgelbouw for cleaning and partly revoicing the sound. In the spring of 2020 it was returned to the church and on 18 April the new organist Evan Bogerd performed the commissioning concert on the internet because the church was closed (because of the corona virus pandemic). See the Youtube site Westerkerk Amsterdam for the links of the concerts and other events in the past (and the latest) From April till the end of October, there is a free weekly lunchtime concert on Fridays or Saturdays at 1pm. In August there are free concerts almost every day for a week 'Geen dag zonder Bach' ('Not a day without Bach') and the 'Grachten' (Canal) festival. A voluntary donation is asked at the end of the concert upon leaving the church. The revenue is used to help finance the concerts and the organs. Music by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

(1685-1750) is performed almost weekly at the services of divine worship on Sundays. Bach was born in 1685, a year before the organ was finished. As far as we know, he never visited Amsterdam. Strikingly, his music sounds as if it was written for this instrument. See the site of Westerkerk for the Lunchtime concert schedule. Organist titulaire in the Westerkerk is Evan Bogerd. -

Stoplist of the Duyschot Organ

Couplers and shutters: * Shutters for all manuals and pedals. * Couplers: I/II, II/I, III/II, I/P, II/P, III/P * Td = Treble is doubled

The paintings of the organ

The inside of the organ shutters of the 'hoofdwerk' was painted by Gerard de Lairesse. On the left panel we see the dancing and playing King David in front of the

Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an ...

. On the right panel we see the

Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא‎, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...

presenting gifts to King Solomon. Both stories in the book of Kings in the old testament of the Bible. Gerard de Lairesse was born in Liège in French Belgium in 1640 and he moved to Amsterdam in 1664. In the second half of the 17th Century, he was one of the most popular painters in the Netherlands. At this moment, the shutters of the Duyschot organ can be seen on a retrospective of the work of Gerard de Lairesse at the National Museum Twente in Enschede. The outside paintings of these panels or shutters were lost in the 19th century when the church wanted to sell them. The

grisaille Grisaille ( or ; french: grisaille, lit=greyed , from ''gris'' 'grey') is a painting executed entirely in shades of grey or of another neutral greyish colour. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture. Many g ...

s on the 'rugwerk' panels were also painted by Gerard de Lairesse; The four evangelists with their items are shown. The inside of the 'rugwerk' shutters have paintings of old musical instruments. The complete organ was cleaned and re-painted in 1992 in its original state of colour in 1686; most of it in marble imitation.

Ds. A.H. Visser organ

The small organ on the east side of the church was built in 1963 by D.A. Flentrop from Zaandam. It was tuned and slightly altered in 2001. In that year it was named after the minister Ds. H.A Visser who was the man begging for money to buy the organ in 1963. He succeeded. The organ has 12 stops over 2 manuals and pedal. Since 1963 the organ case was in not painted but plain oak wood. After the renovation it was painted in a light green color. In 2017 the organ was cleaned by Flentrop Zaandam. During the church interior restoration it was packed against the dust. Stoplist * Couplers: II/I, I/P, II/P

The tower with the spire

Part from Westertoren, gravure in Architectura Moderna - Amsterdam - 20013240 - RCE

The tower, called the Westertoren ("Western tower"), is the highest church tower in Amsterdam, at 87 meters (±286 feet). It is not known who the designer of the spire was. Hendrick de Keyser designed an octagonal spire for the tower which was never built. It is suggested

Jacob van Campen Jacob van Campen (2 February 1596 - 13 September 1657) was a Dutch artist and architect of the Golden Age. Life He was born into a wealthy family at Haarlem, and spent his youth in his home town. Being of noble birth and with time on his hand ...

was the designer. The crown topping the spire is the Imperial Crown of Austria of

Maximilian I Maximilian I may refer to: *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1486/93–1519 *Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, reigned 1597–1651 *Maximilian I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636-1689) *Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, reigned 1795� ...

Bells in the 'Westertoren'

Just above the clock-faces is the

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmon ...

. The largest 14 of the 51 bells in this carillon were cast by

François Hemony François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

in 1658. The modern bells were cast in 1959 by Eijsbouts replacing bells which had been damaged by atmospheric pollution. In 1991 three bells more were added by the same foundery. The smaller Hemony bells, which are not currently In use, can be seen in the tower together with the original baton keyboard from the 17th century. The carillon was enlarged to 4 octaves and is tuned in

Meantone temperament Meantone temperament is a musical temperament, that is a tuning system, obtained by narrowing the fifths so that their ratio is slightly less than 3:2 (making them ''narrower'' than a perfect fifth), in order to push the thirds closer to pure. Me ...

.Boudewijn Zwart performs: Sonata in d (2 parts)
by

Baldassare Galuppi Baldassare Galuppi (18 October 17063 January 1785) was an Italian composer, born on the island of Burano in the Venetian Republic. He belonged to a generation of composers, including Johann Adolph Hasse, Giovanni Battista Sammartini, and C.&nb ...

- Choral 'Ich ruff zu Dir' by Johann Sebastian

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

- Entry of the Gladiators by Julius Fučík and Wien bleibt Wien by Johann Schrammel. It is the only carillon in the city chiming the entire twenty-four hours. (At the request of the residents of the 'Jordaan' District.) The drum to do this, was made by Jurriaen Spraeckel from

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some 30 km northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river Ijssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the ...

in 1659 and it still chimes every quarter of the hour to announce the hour and half hour strike. On the quarter of the hour a short tune is performed. The two strike bells were made by Assuerus (Ahasverus) Koster in 1636. The hour strike bell (F⁰) is the largest in Amsterdam (7509 kg) and is hung in the room for the carillon. The text on this Bourdon bell is: 'VERBUM DOMINI MANET IN ETERNUM - ASSUERUS KOSTER ME FECIT AMSTELDAMI 1636' The smaller bell (A¹) for half hour is hung in top of the spire just under the crown. Weekly on Tuesday at noon the city

carillonneur A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoni ...

gives his recital on the carillon for an hour. He is also responsible for the tunes on the drum and changes these twice a year. At this moment (2015) Boudewijn Zwart is the city carillonneur. In a lower chamber behind the sounding boards in the tower wall there are three swinging bells also made by François Hemony in 1658. The largest swinging bell was replaced after 27 years by Claude Fremy (his pupil, nephew and successor), because it was cracked. The bells (a major triad) are rung to announce the divine service on Sunday and also when the service is on, during praying the 'Our Father'. This bell by Fremy is also connected with the pedals in the baton keyboard of the carillon. The latest renovation works on the carillon were in 2006 when the tower was also renovated. In that year the crown on top was also painted in its original blue color.

Rembrandt

Rembrandt van Rijn Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consi ...

was buried somewhere under a tombstone in the Westerkerk on October 8, 1669. The exact location of the grave is unknown; the number of his grave was lost. It was in a numbered 'kerkgraf' (grave owned by the church). There is a memorial marker on the north wall, made in 1909 after a model on the 'Nachtwacht'. After twenty years, his remains were taken away and destroyed. That was customary with the remains of poor people at that time. Rembrandt was buried as a poor man. Every year on his birthday anniversary, the 15th of July, he is remembered in the Westerkerk with a lunchtime concert with music from the time of Rembrandt's life, and flowers are hung on his memorial marker. Rembrandt's lover Hendrickje Stoffels was also buried here, as was Rembrandt's son

Titus van Rijn Titus van Rijn (22 September 1641 – 4 September 1668) was the fourth and only surviving child of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn and Saskia van Uylenburgh. Titus is best known as a figure or model in his father's paintings and studies but ...

. Other painters buried in the Westerkerk are

Nicolaes Berchem Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1 October 1620 – 18 February 1683) was a highly esteemed and prolific Dutch Golden Age painter of pastoral landscapes, populated with mythological or biblical figures, but also of a number of allegories and genre ...

Gillis d'Hondecoeter Gillis Claesz. de Hondecoeter or d'Hondecoeter (c. 1575-1580 – buried 17 October 1638) was a Dutch painter, working in a Flemish style, painting landscapes, trees, fowl and birds. Later on d'Hondecoeter painted in a more Dutch, realist ...

Melchior d'Hondecoeter Melchior d'Hondecoeter (; 1636 – 3 April 1695), Dutch animalier painter, was born in Utrecht and died in Amsterdam. After the start of his career, he painted virtually exclusively bird subjects, usually exotic or game, in park-like landsc ...

and

Govert Flinck Govert (or Govaert) Teuniszoon Flinck (25 January 16152 February 1660) was a Dutch painter of the Dutch Golden Age. Life Born at Kleve, capital of the Duchy of Cleves, which was occupied at the time by the United Provinces, he was apprenticed by ...

Dutch Royal Family

On March 10, 1966, Princess

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

Prince Claus von Amsberg in the Westerkerk. The 'Nieuwe Kerk' on Dam Square where royal weddings are usually held was being renovated at the time.

Anne Frank

The Westerkerk is located close to the Anne Frank House where diarist

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

, her family and others were hid in the 'Achterhuis' from

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

persecution for two years during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The Westertoren is mentioned frequently in her diary – its clock-face on the tower could be seen from the attic of the Achterhuis, and Anne Frank described the chiming of the carillon as a source of comfort. A memorial statue of Anne Frank is located outside the church at Westermarkt.

Burials

Amsterdam Westerkerk Innen Langhaus Ost 1

* Nicolaes Pietersz. Berchem (1620-1683), painter *

Jan Bicker Jan Gerritsz. Bicker (1591–1653) was a merchant, a mayor (burgomaster) and a member of the Bicker family, an influential patrician family from Amsterdam. De Bickers were part of the ''staatsgezinde partij'' (the pro-republican party) and oppone ...

(1591-1653), shipbuilder and merchant *

Joan Blaeu Joan Blaeu (; 23 September 1596 – 21 December 1673) was a Dutch cartographer born in Alkmaar, the son of cartographer Willem Blaeu. Life In 1620, Blaeu became a doctor of law but he joined the work of his father. In 1635, they published ...

(1596-1673), printer, publisher and cartographer *

Steven Blankaart Steven Blankaart (24 October 1650, Middelburg – 23 February 1704, Amsterdam) was a Dutch physician, iatrochemist, and entomologist, who worked on the same field as Jan Swammerdam. Blankaart proved the existence of a capillary system, as ha ...

(1650-1704), physician and entomologist *

Samuel Blommaert Samuel Blommaert (''Bloemaert'', ''Blommaerts'', ''Blommaart'', ''Blomert'', etc.) (11 or 21 August 1583, in Antwerp – 23 December 1651, in Amsterdam) was a Flemish/Dutch merchant and director of the Dutch West India Company from 1622 to 1629 ...

(1583-1651), merchant, director of the Dutch West India Company *

Anthonie van Borssom Anthonie van Borssom (January 2, 1631 in Amsterdam – March 19, 1677 in Amsterdam), was a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter. Biography According to the Netherlands Institute for Art History ( RKD), he was an Italianate landscape painter wh ...

(1631-1677), painter and draughtsman *

Pieter de Carpentier Pieter de Carpentier (19 February 1586 – 5 September 1659) was a Dutch administrator of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) who served as Governor-General there from 1623 to 1627. The Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia is named after hi ...

(1586-1659), Governor-General of the Dutch East India Company, after whom the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary ...

in Australia is named *

Frederick Coyett Frederick Coyett (), born in Stockholm c. 1615 or 1620, buried in Amsterdam on 17 October 1687, was a Swedish nobleman and the last colonial governor for the Dutch colony of Formosa. He was the first Swede to travel to Japan and China and became ...

(1615/1620-1687), last Dutch governor of Dutch Formosa (present-day Taiwan) * Christoffel van Dijck (c. 1605-1669), typefounder, with his wife and son Abraham *

(1615-1660), painter *

Johann Rudolph Glauber Johann Rudolf Glauber (10 March 1604 – 16 March 1670) was a German-Dutch alchemist and chemist. Some historians of science have described him as one of the first chemical engineers. His discovery of sodium sulfate in 1625 led to the compo ...

(1604-1670), German pharmacist and chemist * Pieter van Gunst (1658/9-1732), painter *

(ca. 1575-1638), painter *

(1636-1695), painter *

(1606/1607-1669), painter *

Son of Rembrandt (1641-1668) * Hendrickje Stoffels Mistress of Rembrandt (1626-1663) *

Albertus Seba Albertus or Albert Seba (May 12, 1665, Etzel near Friedeburg – May 2, 1736, Amsterdam) was a Dutch pharmacist, zoologist, and collector. Seba accumulated one of the largest cabinets of curiosities in the Netherlands during his time. He sol ...

(1665-1736), pharmacist and collactor * Jacques Specx (1585-1652), merchant who established the Dutch trade with Japan and Korea *

Isaak Tirion Isaak Tirion (1705 in Utrecht – 1765 in Amsterdam) was an 18th-century publisher from the Northern Netherlands. Biography According to the RKD, he is most remembered for his ''Hedendaagsche historie'' (''Modern History'') and his ''Vaderlandse ...

(1705-1765), book trader and publisher * Hendrick van Uylenburgh (ca. 1587-1661), art trader

Notable people

* Cristina Pumplun, missionary vicar

Bibliography

* I Roelfs Jan en Balk Jaap Th. - De oude Wester 350 jaar. uitg. Tiebosch 1981 (in Dutch) * Balkenende Maria - De orgels van de Westerkerk in Amsterdam (incl cd) (in Dutch) * Seijbel Maarten - Orgels rond het IJsselmeer blz 113-115 (in Dutch) * Prof. F.C. Stam - Het hoofdorgel van de Westerkerk te Amsterdam. (small booklet in Dutch)

References

External links

Westerkerk
official website {{Authority control Bell towers in the Netherlands Buildings of the Dutch Golden Age Carillons Churches in Amsterdam Protestant churches in the Netherlands Religious buildings and structures completed in 1631 Rijksmonuments in Amsterdam 1631 establishments in the Dutch Republic Towers in Amsterdam