Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam

Nieuwe Kerk
Nieuwe Kerk
	The Nieuwe Kerk as seen from Dam Square
	Location within Amsterdam
General information
Architectural style	Gothic, neo-Gothic
Town or city	Dam Square, Amsterdam
Country	Netherlands
Coordinates	52°22′26″N 4°53′30″E / 52.3739°N 4.8917°E
Construction started	c. 1385

The Nieuwe Kerk (Dutch:

Royal Palace. Formerly a Dutch Reformed Church parish, it now belongs to the Protestant Church in the Netherlands

.

Current uses

The Nieuwe Kerk is no longer used for church services but is used as an exhibition space.[1] It is also used for organ recitals. There is a café in one of the buildings attached to the church that has an entrance to the church (during opening hours). There is a museum store inside the entrance that sells postcards, books, and gifts having to do with the church and its exhibitions.

The church is used for Dutch royal

the wedding of Willem-Alexander to Máxima in 2002.^[2] The investitures of Queens Wilhelmina, Juliana and Beatrix also took place there.^[1]

History

After the

bishop of Utrecht gave permission to build a second parish church, the Nieuwe Kerk ("New Church"). Construction began in 1380 and finished in 1408. This new church was consecrated in 1409^[3] to St. Mary and St. Catherine, and the first services were held in 1410.^[4]

The church was damaged by the city fires of 1421 and 1452 and burned down almost entirely in 1645, after which it was rebuilt in

neo-Gothic

details, and was again renovated in 1959–80. The second renovation proved expensive for the Dutch Reformed Church, forcing the church to be closed most of the time in order to save money on maintenance. To keep the church open, ownership was transferred in 1979 to a newly formed cultural foundation called the Nationale Stichting De Nieuwe Kerk.

Notable interments

The Nieuwe Kerk is a burial site for Dutch naval heroes, including Admiral

Jan van Galen, and Jan van Speyk. Despite being Roman Catholic, the poet and playwright Joost van den Vondel

is buried in the church.

Gallery

Sun dial on West side
Original entrance (the former stained-glass window was bricked up when the organ was installed)
Houses built up against the church
Choir gate by Johannes Lutma
Pulpit by Albert Jansz Vinckenbrinck
Detail of pulpit sounding board (from above)
Organ
Transept organ (Van Hagerbeer 1645/Flentrop 1989)
Stained-glass window of William IV, Count of Holland awarding the coat of arms to Amsterdam in 1342
Stained-glass window
A Garden of Glass
Michiel de Ruyter coffin under the monument
Panel presentation and discussion in front of Michiel de Ruyter memorial monument.
Michiel de Ruyter memorial (detail) by Rombout Verhulst
Coats of arms with the titles of the Dutch head of state