Westerkerk

A church built for a new faith

The Westerkerk stands on the Westermarkt, at the edge of the Jordaan, between the Prinsengracht and the Keizersgracht. It is the church most people in Amsterdam know by its tower. The people who live here call the tower Lange Jan or Ouwe Wester.

It was one of the first churches in the city built from the start for Protestants. The older ones, the Oude Kerk and the Nieuwe Kerk, were medieval and changed hands at the Reformation in 1578. The Westerkerk is still the largest church in the Netherlands built for Protestant worship.

Hendrick de Keyser's plan

Hendrick de Keyser drew up the design, and building began in 1620. He died in 1621, and his son Pieter saw the work through. The church was opened on 8 June 1631. De Keyser also gave the Munttoren its spire, so you can compare the two towers if you know it.

The plan is simple and strong: a rectangle about 58 metres long and 29 wide, with a high nave and two lower aisles. Two transepts of equal size make the shape of two Greek crosses joined together. The style is Dutch Renaissance, plain in the Protestant way, built of brick and stone.

The Westertoren was finished in 1638. At about 87 metres it is the tallest church tower in Amsterdam. De Keyser drew an octagonal spire for it, but it was never built. Nobody is sure who designed the spire that stands there now.

The crown and the bells

Look up to the very top. The crown there is the imperial crown of Maximilian I of Austria, the same crown that sits in Amsterdam's coat of arms. Below it the tower steps inward in three stages. You can see the clock faces and the sandstone with the city arms.

Just above the clocks hangs the carillon, with 51 bells. The largest fourteen were cast by François Hemony in 1658. The newer ones came from the Eijsbouts foundry in the 20th century. The hour bell is the biggest in Amsterdam, cast in 1636 by Assuerus Koster. A drum plays a short tune every quarter of an hour. This is the only carillon in the city that chimes all day and all night, because the residents of the Jordaan asked for it.

Anne Frank listened to these bells. In her diary she wrote about the Westertoren and its chimes, and she found comfort in them while she was in hiding. The clock face could be seen from the attic of the Secret Annex. The carillon is best heard from the street.

Rembrandt, and where to stand

Rembrandt was buried in the Westerkerk on 8 October 1669. His grave was a numbered one belonging to the church, and he was buried as a poor man. After about twenty years the remains were cleared away, as was usual then, and the grave number was lost. Nobody knows where he lies. His son Titus, who died in 1668, was buried here too, and so was Hendrickje Stoffels, who shared Rembrandt's later life. A memorial to Rembrandt hangs on the north wall.

The best view of the church is from outside, on the Westermarkt, and it costs nothing. Stand back near the canal and tilt your head up the full height of the tower. On the square you will find the statue of Anne Frank and the Homomonument, a memorial to gay men and lesbians persecuted for who they are. The Anne Frank House is a minute away along the Prinsengracht. From the pavement outside it you can look back and see the same tower that Anne saw.