The Oude Kerk ( English: Old Church) is a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

church in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Netherlands, being the oldest parish church of the city. The oldest structure in Amsterdam, the building was founded about 1213 and consecrated in 1306 by the

bishop of Utrecht List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht. Medieval diocese from 695 to 1580 Founders of the Utrecht diocese * * * * * Bishops * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

with Saint Nicolas as its patron saint. After the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

in 1578, it became a Reformed (Calvinist) church, which it remains today. It is located in De Wallen and since 2012, includes an art exhibit within its structure. The square surrounding the church is the

Oudekerksplein The Oudekerksplein () is a square in the centre of Amsterdam. It is named after the 14th-century church Oude Kerk which dominates the square. The Oudekerksplein is wedged between the Warmoesstraat street and Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal. From th ...

History

By around 1213, a wooden chapel had been erected at the location of today's Oude Kerk. Over time, this structure was replaced by a stone church that was consecrated in 1306. The church has seen a number of renovations performed by 15 generations of Amsterdam citizens. The church stood for only a half-century before the first alterations were made; the aisles were lengthened and wrapped around the choir in a half circle to support the structure. Not long after the turn of the 15th century, north and south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s were added to the church creating a cross formation. Work on these renovations was completed in 1460, though it is likely that progress was largely interrupted by the great fires that besieged the city in 1421 and 1452. This delayed the building for almost 1 year. Before the '' Alteratie'', or

in Amsterdam of 1578, the Oude Kerk was

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. Following

William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

's defeat of the Spanish in the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

, the church was taken over by the

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

Dutch Reformed Church 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 traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

. Throughout the 16th-century battles, the church was looted and defaced on numerous occasions, first in the

Beeldenstorm ''Beeldenstorm'' () in Dutch and ''Bildersturm'' in German (roughly translatable from both languages as 'attack on the images or statues') are terms used for outbreaks of destruction of religious images that occurred in Europe in the 16th centu ...

of 1566, when a mob destroyed most of the church art and fittings, including an altarpiece with a central panel by Jan van Scorel and side panels painted on both sides by

Maarten van Heemskerck Maarten van Heemskerck (born Maerten Jacobsz van Veen; 1 June 1498 – 1 October 1574), also known as Marten Jacobsz Heemskerk van Veen, was a Dutch portrait and religious painter, who spent most of his career in Haarlem. He was a pupil of Jan ...

. Only the paintings on the ceiling, which were unreachable, were spared. Locals would gather in the church to gossip, peddlers sold their goods, and beggars sought shelter. This was not tolerated by the Calvinists, however, and the homeless were expelled. In 1681, the choir was closed-off with an oak screen. Above the screen is the text, ''The prolonged misuse of God's church, were here undone again in the year seventy-eight,'' referring to the Reformation of 1578. Rembrandt marriage record

In that same year, the Oude Kerk became home to the registry of marriages. It was also used as the city archives; the most important documents were locked in a chest covered with iron plates and painted with the city's coat of arms. The chest was kept safe in the iron chapel.

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

was a frequent visitor to the Oude Kerk and his children were all christened here. It is the only building in Amsterdam that remains in its original state since Rembrandt walked its halls. In the Holy Sepulchre is a small Rembrandt exhibition, a shrine to his wife Saskia van Uylenburgh who was buried here in 1642. Each year on 9 March (8 March in leap years), at 8:39 am, the early morning sun briefly illuminates her tomb. An early spring breakfast event is held annually.

Structure

The church covers an area of some . The foundations were set on an artificial mound, thought to be the most solid ground of the settlement in this marshy province. The ceiling of the Oude Kerk is the largest medieval wooden vault in Europe. The

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n oak planks date to 1390 and boast some of the best acoustics in Europe. Oude Kerke misericord

The Oude Kerk contains 12

misericord A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat, like the biblical object) is a small wooden structure formed on the underside of a folding seat in a church which, when the seat is folded up, is intended to act as a shelf to support a person in a p ...

s, leaning posts installed under the folding seats of the choir stalls.

Graves

The floor consists entirely of gravestones. The reason for this is that the church was built on a cemetery. Local citizens continued to be buried on the site within the confines of the church until 1865. There are 2,500 gravestones in the Oude Kerk, under which are buried 60,000 Amsterdam citizens, including: *

Jacob van Heemskerck Jacob van Heemskerck (3 March 1567 – 25 April 1607) was a Dutch explorer and naval officer. He is generally known for his victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Gibraltar, where he ultimately lost his life. Early life Jacob van Hee ...

, naval hero *

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck ( ; April or May, 1562 – 16 October 1621) was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard comp ...

, composer and organist *

Adriaen Block Adriaen Courtsen Block (c. 1567 – 27 April 1627) was a Dutch private trader, privateer, and ship's captain who is best known for exploring the coastal and river valley areas between present-day New Jersey and Massachusetts during four voyages ...

, trader and explorer * Catharina Questiers, poet and dramatist * Jacob de Graeff Dircksz., Amsterdam regent *

Andries de Graeff Andries de Graeff (19 February 1611 – 30 November 1678) was a regent and burgomaster (mayor) of Amsterdam and leading Dutch statesman during the Golden Age. He came from the De Graeff family, which, together with the Bicker family by marria ...

, Amsterdam regent *

Cornelis de Graeff Cornelis de Graeff (15 October 1599 – 4 May 1664), often named ''Polsbroek'' or ''de heer van (lord) Polsbroek'' during his lifetime, was an influential regenten, regent and burgomaster (mayor) of Amsterdam, statesman and diplomat of Holland an ...

, Amsterdam regent *

Catharina Hooft Catharina Pietersdr Hooft (28 December 1618 – 30 September 1691) was a woman of the Dutch Golden Age. She became famous at a very early age, when she was painted by Frans Hals. At the age of sixteen she married Cornelis de Graeff, ninetee ...

, woman of the Dutch golden age *

Pieter Lastman Pieter Lastman (1583–1633) was a Dutch painter. Lastman is considered important because of his work as a painter of history pieces and because his pupils included Rembrandt and Jan Lievens. In his paintings Lastman paid careful attention to ...

, painter * Willem van der Zaan, Admiral * Laurens Bake, poet * Abraham van der Hulst, Admiral *

Saskia van Uylenburgh Saskia van Uylenburgh (; 2 August 1612 – 14 June 1642) was the wife of painter Rembrandt, Rembrandt van Rijn. In the course of her life, she was his model for some of his paintings, drawings, and etchings. She was the daughter of Rombert ...

, Wife of Rembrandt * Cornelis Hooft, statesman * Jan Jacobszoon Hinlopen, merchant * Kiliaen van Rensselaer, owner of the only successful

patroonship In the United States, a patroon (; from Dutch '' patroon'' ) was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th-century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Free ...

in New Netherland,

Rensselaerswyck Rensselaerswyck was a Dutch colonial patroonship and later an English manor owned by the van Rensselaer family located in the present-day Capital District of New York in the United States. The estate was originally deeded by the Dutch West In ...

. * Frans Banninck Cocq,

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

(mayor) of Amsterdam and central figure in

s masterpiece ''

The Night Watch ''Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq'', also known as ''The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'', but commonly referred to as ''The Night Watch'' (), is a 1642 painting ...

'' * Nicasius de Sille, Ambassador *

Caspar Commelijn Caspar Commelijn or Caspar Commelin (14 October 1668 Amsterdam – 25 December 1731 Amsterdam), was a Dutch botanist. Life and work He was the son of the bookseller, historian and publisher, Casparus Commelijn and his first wife, Margrieta Heyda ...

, botanist * Jan van der Heyden, painter and print maker * Johannes Hudde, burgomaster of Amsterdam and mathematician * Lucretia Wilhelmina van Merken, dramatist and poet * Jacob Beeldsnyder, the ony enslaved person so far identified

Organs

The Oude Kerk holds four

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

s, the old church organ built in 1658 and the cabinet organ built in 1767. The third was built by the German Christian Vater in 1724 and is regarded as one of the finest

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

organs in Europe. It was acknowledged by the church Commissioners as "perfect". The organ was dismantled whilst renovations were made to the church tower in 1738, and upon reassembling it, Casper Müller made alterations to give the organ more force. It became known as the Vater-Müller organ, to acknowledge the improvement of sound. The organ underwent a complete restoration between 2014 and 2019. The fourth was constructed for the church by Organi Puccini of

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

in 2010. A bust of the organist and composer

(1562–1621) celebrates the lifetime he spent playing in the church. His early career began at the age of fifteen when he succeeded his deceased father Pieter Swybertszoon as the Oude Kerk's organist. He went on to compose music for all 150 Psalms and secured an international reputation as a leading Dutch composer. His music would also be played over the city from the church's bell tower. He is buried in the church.

Today

Oude Kerk holds

church service A church service (or a worship service) is a formalized period of Christian communal Christian worship, worship, often held in a Church (building), church building. Most Christian denominations hold church services on the Lord's Day (offering Su ...

s on the

Lord's Day In Christianity, the Lord's Day refers to Sunday, the traditional day of communal worship. It is the first day of the week in the Hebrew calendar and traditional Christian calendars. It is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the ...

(Sunday) at 11 am, as well as

vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

at 6:30 pm. The Oude Kerk includes a centre for contemporary art and heritage. Artists including

Nicolas Jaar Nicolas Jaar (, ; né Nicolás Jaar; born January 10, 1990) is a Chilean-American composer and musician. Among his notable works are the albums '' Space Is Only Noise'' (2011), ''Sirens'' (2016), and '' Cenizas'' (2020). He has also released th ...

, Marinus Boezem,

Christian Boltanski Christian Liberté Boltanski (6 September 1944 – 14 July 2021) was a French sculptor, photographer, painter, and film maker. He is best known for his photography installations and contemporary French conceptual style. Early life Boltanski wa ...

Janet Cardiff Janet Cardiff (born March 15, 1957) is a Canadian artist who works chiefly with sound and sound installations, often in collaboration with her husband and partner George Bures Miller. Cardiff first gained international recognition in the art wor ...

and

George Bures Miller George Bures Miller (born 1960) is a Canadian artist known for his collaborative works with his wife Janet Cardiff. Miller and Cardiff represented Canada at the 2001 Venice Biennale. They are based in British Columbia, Canada. Solo works Works ...

were commissioned by the Oude Kerk to create site-specific installations. The church also has a permanent exhibit on its history and that of the city of Amsterdam. In mid-March each year, Catholics arrive at the Oude Kerk to celebrate the " Miracle of Amsterdam" that occurred in 1345. After taking communion, a dying man vomited the

Host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

. When his vomit was thrown into a fire, the Host did not burn and was proclaimed a miracle. The Host was put in a chest and installed at the Oude Kerk; however, it disappeared during the

Gallery

File:Bronze relief Oudekerksplein Amsterdam.jpg, Bronze relief in the cobblestone of ''Oudekerksplein''. File:Old Church - Old Profession.jpg, Prostitutes' windows on the ''Oudekerksplein'' behind the Oude Kerk. File:Sex worker statue Oudekerksplein Amsterdam.jpg, Bronze statue ''Belle'' in front of the Oude Kerk. Inscription says "Respect sex workers all over the world." File:Oude Kerk.jpg, Tower File:Interior of the Oude Kerk.JPG, Interior of the Oude Kerk. File:Cornelis Dommelshuizen A Capriccio View Of Amsterdam.jpg, Cornelis Christiaan Dommersen a Capriccio view of Oude Kerk, 1875.

References

External links

Oude Kerk
– official website
Oude Kerk congregation
– Protestant congregation of the Oude Kerk (archived)
Oude Kerk art gallery

Typisch Amsterdams – Oude Kerk
– history and architecture of the Oude Kerk.
Amsterdam Oude Kerk Organs
– Visitor's information and details about Oude Kerk's organs and history {{Authority control Bell towers in the Netherlands Churches in Amsterdam Rijksmonuments in Amsterdam 1213 establishments in Europe Towers in Amsterdam