The Oude kerk - ( The Old Church )

The Oude Kerk (Old Church) is the oldest building in Amsterdam. Although there is no absolute certainty, the church was probably consecrated in 1306 by Guy of Avennes, bishop of Utrecht. St. Nicholas of Myra was the obvious choice when it came to selecting a patron saint. Nicholas of Myra, patron of sailors and traders, was held in high esteem in many ports all over Europe.

After the Protestants had gained control over local politics as well as religious matters, all references to Catholic saints became unacceptable and from then on the church was called by its present name.
The present Oude Kerk is a direct descendant of a long line of older churches.

Its oldest predecessor is a small wooden chapel (surrounded by a graveyard), which could dates back to the early 13th century. In 1334 Amsterdam became an independent parish with a priest of its own. The church miraculously survived two great fires (1421 and 1452) unscathed.

The iconoclastic fury of 1566 did not go unnoticed. The altars of the church were badly damaged. After the ‘Alteratie’ (alteration) of 1578, when Amsterdam officially became a Protestant city, the church was stripped of its Roman Catholic decoration and renovated to suit the Protestant religious service. In 1584 merchants were given permission to use the church as a commodity exchange.

The building was used for this purpose until Hendrick de Keyser’s new commodity exchange at the Rokin opened its gates in 1611. From 1632 onwards the church council alternately met at the Oude and Nieuwe Kerk. When the new town hall in the Dam Square was completed, the Dam area and the Nieuwe Kerk became the focal point in town.

The Building History

The building history of the Oude Kerk is a long and variegated tale. During the second half of the 13th century a stone hall church was built to replace the wooden chapel. After 1300 a spacious three-aisled hall church was erected.

The side aisles were as high as the nave but not as wide. The small rectangular choir was probably built in the Romanesque style. A tower formed an integral part of the church. This building was quite unique in the history of Dutch architecture. It was probably the first hall church of this type.

In circa 1330 the small choir was replaced by a larger single-nave choir. Between 1330 and 1350 the aisles were widened (they were now even wider than the nave) and as a result the church came to resemble the present building more closely. In the course of the subsequent ages the church was enlarged step by step. After all the building had now become an official parish church.

As a first step the easternmost sections of the aisles were extended, an operation which yielded a three-aisled choir. Subsequently an ambulatory was added. Two additional chapels, one facing north (St. George’s Chapel, 1380-1412;) and one facing south (St. Sebastian’s Chapel 1450-1460) gave the church its cruciform shape. However, this transparency of design was affected by the additional chapels which were subsequently built.

During the first half of the 16th century the church was made higher. First a clerestory was added to the nave. As part of the next stage the height of the crossing was adjusted (circa 1550). However, the plans to subject the transepts to the same treatment were abandoned. The provisional transept roofs remain intact to this very day.

The proceeds of a lottery helped to pay for the clerestory which was added to the choir (1558- 1560). Finally the tower needed to be modified. A new spire was built in 1565, based on a design in a mixed Gothic-Renaissance style produced by Joost Jansz Bilhamer. The leaning tower, however, remained an eyesore. A new stone jacket, added circa 1740, remedied this problem.

Basically the Oude Kerk is a representative of the style often called Dutch Brick Gothic. The construction was kept relatively light for a good reason. Because of the muddy composition of the Amsterdam soil, piles need to be driven into the ground prior to the actual building process in order to obtain a solid basis for the foundations. Driving piles into the ground is a common and essential procedure which can be observed at all Amsterdam building sites to this very day. Initially the technique was still rather primitive.

The church could not be enlarged, and made heavier, without taking into account the limited supporting power of the old foundations. Wooden barrel vaults and tall lancet windows allowed for a minimum of heavy brick walls. The floor area of the building is large in comparison to the height of the church. The church has retained its original character of typical hall church.

In 1951 the church was temporarily closed. The foundations were in such a bad condition that the building was about to collapse. Large-scale restorations carried out between 1955 and 1979 remedied the problems. At the time archaeologists did extensive research. They excavated the foundations of some of the predecessors of the present church. At present the building is under restoration once again.

Opening hours

Monday to Saturday from 11 am - 5 pm;
Sundays from 1 pm until 5 pm

Closed to visitors: Queens' Day, December 25th and January 1st