Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
2
4
9
0
6
7
6
7
1
9
Red Door into the Old Sacristy
Rembrandt passed through this door
to announce his marriage. “Marry in haste,
repent at leisure” is inscribed above it.
5
Plan of the Oude Kerk
Decorated Pillars
Relics of the period
before 1578, these pillars
once supported niches for
statues of the Apostles
destroyed in the Icono-
clasm, and were painted
to look like brocade, since
the real thing was too
expensive, and unsuited
to the humid atmosphere.
Misericords
The 15th-century
misericords helped chor-
isters take the weight off
their feet
(left)
. They are
decorated with charming
carvings illustrating trad-
itional Dutch proverbs.
Spire
From the graceful
late-Gothic spire, built by
Joost Bilhamer in 1565,
there are splendid views
over the Oude Zijde. The
tower contains a 47-bell
carillon, a 17th-century
addition which rings out
every Saturday afternoon.
The Iconoclasm of
1566
In the 1566 Iconoclasm,
or
Beeldenstorm
-
precursor to the
Alteration of 1578
(see
p21)
when the city
became Protestant -
the Calvinists looted
Catholic churches and
destroyed their
treasures, among them
the Oude Kerk's
pictures, altars and
statues. Only the ceiling
paintings and stained
glass were spared, as
they were out of reach.
The Calvinists also
disapproved of the
beggars and pedlars
who gathered in the
church, and threw them
out, ending its role as a
city meeting place.
Stained Glass of
the Burgemeesters
The colourful stained glass
windows flanking the
chancel depict the arms of
the city burgomasters
from 1578 to 1807
(left)
.
One was designed by De
Angeli in 1758; the other
by Pieter Jansz in 1654.
Little Organ
Attractively painted shutters form the original
casing (1658) - however, the pipework was replaced
in 1965. Tuned as it would have been before 1700,
early music can now be part of the repertoire.
For more Amsterdam churches
See pp42-3
29
