The Pieterskerk is a late-

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

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 traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

church in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

dedicated to

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

. It is known today as the church of the

Pilgrim Fathers The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were the English settlers who travelled to North America on the ship ''Mayflower'' and established the Plymouth Colony at what now is Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. John Smith had named ...

, where the pastor John Robinson was buried. It is also the burial place of the scientist

Willebrord Snellius Willebrord Snellius (born Willebrord Snel van Royen) (13 June 158030 October 1626) was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician, commonly known as Snell. His name is usually associated with the law of refraction of light known as Snell's law. The ...

History

In around 1100 the site held the county chapel of the

counts of Holland The counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century. The Frisian origins While the Frisian kingdom had comprised most of the present day Netherlands, the later province of Friesland ...

, rebuilt in 1121. The present building took approximately 180 years to build, starting in 1390. Famous Leiden dignitaries are buried there, including the painter

Jan Steen Jan Havickszoon Steen ( – buried 3 February 1679) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century. His works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour. Life ...

and the Leiden professor

Herman Boerhaave Herman Boerhaave (, 31 December 1668 – 23 September 1738Underwood, E. Ashworth. "Boerhaave After Three Hundred Years." ''The British Medical Journal'' 4, no. 5634 (1968): 820–25. .) was a Dutch chemist, botanist, Christian humanist, and ph ...

. The beautiful stained-glass windows already took a terrible blow during 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 ...

, but were completely destroyed a couple of centuries later, in the gunpowder explosion of 12 January 1807. The windows were boarded up, and it wasn't until 1880 that a large-scale restoration took place. The ''Pieterskerk'' used to have a church tower, the ''Westtoren'' (west tower) from 1290 on. It was nicknamed "Coningh der Zee" (king of the sea), and was completed in stages, eventually reaching 110 metres (including the 35-metre-tall wooden spire). It collapsed in the night of 5 March 1512. The tower was not restored and the church remains towerless. Not only the stained glass windows were vandalised during the Beeldenstorm, many other beautiful statues and paintings were made victim of 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 ...

. The internationally renowned painting Het Laatste Oordeel by

Lucas van Leyden Lucas van Leyden (1494 – 8 August 1533), also named either Lucas Hugensz or Lucas Jacobsz, was a Dutch painter and printmaker in engraving and woodcut. Lucas van Leyden was among the first Dutch exponents of genre painting and was a very ac ...

was barely saved by mayor Van Swanenburg. On 7 July 1572 the church was closed for services. It reopened on 5 October of the same year for the first

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

service. After this date the building of the church can be considered completed. In following centuries small homes were built against the sides of the church. They are still there today. The building was deconsecrated in 1971 and since 1975 has been managed by a foundation and rented for a wide variety of events. Since 2001, with 50% government funding, a long-term restoration project started that ran until 2010. Discoveries made during this and earlier restorations were put on permanent display in the church. A mummy is also on display, that the foundation has chosen not to subject to scientific scrutiny. Though the windows have been lost, the various grave monuments by prominent Leiden sculptors can still be seen. The building is open to the public. In 2007 there was a famous concert by the choral group ''

Libera Libera may refer to: * Libera (mythology), a Roman goddess of fertility * Libera (choir), a boy vocal group from London * ''Libera'' (film), a 1993 comedy film * "Libera" (song), a song by Italian artist Mia Martini * ''Libera'' (gastropod), a ...

''.Concert in Leiden-2007
''Adoramus''''Going home''''Far away''''Evening Prayer'' (Hansel and Gretel)''Libera''''Sanctus''

''Salva Me''''Lacrymosa''
(solo Ben Philipp)
''Abide with Me''''I vow to Thee my country''''Stay with Me''''Do not Stand at my Grave and Weep''''I Am the day''
/
''Ave Maria''''Always with You''
(solo Tom Cully). Libera Official, 2011, 2013 and 2016.

Burials

Before 1811 many prominent people were buried in the Pieterskerk, such as the Dutch theologian

Jacobus Arminius Jacobus Arminius (; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Jakob Hermanszoon'' ; 10 October 1560 – 19 October 1609) was a Dutch Reformed Christianity, Reformed minister and Christian theology, theologian during the Protestant Reformation period whose views ...

(known for

Arminianism Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was origina ...

, the botanist

Rembert Dodoens Rembert Dodoens (born Rembert van Joenckema, 29 June 1517 – 10 March 1585) was a Flemish people, Flemish physician and botanist, also known under his Latinization (literature), Latinized name Rembertus Dodonaeus. He has been called the father o ...

Johannes de Laet Joannes or Johannes De Laet (Latinized as ''Ioannes Latius'') (1581 in Antwerp – buried 15 December 1649, in Leiden) was a Dutch geographer and director of the Dutch West India Company. Philip Burden called his ''History of the New World'', ...

, and John Robinson, pastor of the "

". For a listing, see the category Burials at the Pieterskerk, Leiden.

Gallery

File:quirepieterskerkleiden.jpg, The Pieterskerk from a side street. File:vaultspieterskerkleiden.jpg, The vaulted ceiling. File:VanHagerbeerLeiden.jpg, Van Hagerbeer organ (1643) File:Thomas Hill orgel.tif, Thomas Hill Organ (1883) File:John Robinson plaque (Leiden).jpg, Historical marker to the memory of Pastor John Robinson near where he is buried.

References

External links

Church website
{{Coord, 52, 9, 27, N, 4, 29, 16, E, type:landmark_region:NL_source:nlwiki, display=title Rijksmonuments in Leiden Churches in Leiden Gothic architecture in the Netherlands Puritanism