Oude Kerk

Oldest

It is the oldest parish church in Amsterdam, founded around 1213

The Oude Kerk is a Reformed church and the oldest parish church in the city. By around 1213 a wooden chapel stood on the site. The stone church was consecrated in 1306 by the bishop of Utrecht as a Roman Catholic church, with Saint Nicolas as its patron saint.

1566

In 1566 a mob stripped the church of its art

In the Beeldenstorm of 1566 a mob destroyed most of the church art and fittings, including an altarpiece with a central panel by Jan van Scorel. Only the paintings on the ceiling, which were unreachable, were spared. After the Reformation of 1578 the church became Calvinist.

The ceiling

The ceiling is the largest medieval wooden vault in Europe

The ceiling of the Oude Kerk is the largest medieval wooden vault in Europe. Its Estonian oak planks date to 1390 and are noted for their acoustics. The foundations were set on an artificial mound, thought to be the most solid ground of the settlement in a marshy province.

1390the date of the Estonian oak planks

Rembrandt

Rembrandt's children were christened at the Oude Kerk

Rembrandt was a frequent visitor, and his children were all christened here. 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, at 8:39 am, the early morning sun briefly illuminates her tomb.

The floor

The floor is made of gravestones, because the church was built on a cemetery

The floor consists entirely of gravestones, because the church was built on a cemetery. Local citizens continued to be buried within the church until 1865. There are 2,500 gravestones, under which are buried 60,000 Amsterdam citizens.

2,500gravestones make up the floor