[NETHERLANDS] Grote Kerk at Monnickendam

11:24 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

Grote Kerk (the great church) is a church located at the edge of Monnickendam, a historical town in the Waterlands. Dating back to the middle ages, Monnickendam was once one of the most important ports in Holland.


Getting there:

From Amsterdam you can take bus 311 or 315 to Monnickendam. I took bus 316 from Volendam and changed to bus 311 at Dorp, Broek in Waterland stop. Then I made a stop over here on my way to Marken at Nieuwpoortslaan stop. The tower of Grote Kerk is visible from a distance and it is one of the first building you'll see after getting down from the bus.



The construction of Grote Kerk took at least 250 years! A remarkable feature of the church is the consistant Gothic building style, despite the fact that the construction took 250 years and the Renaisance had already started in the 16th century.



Gable stoned path which leads into the town of Monnickendam.



The entrance to Grote Kerk is free.



Visitor can refer to the travel guide of the church in several languages.



When the church in the centre of Monnickendam became too small at the end of 14th century, a decision was made to build a new church which was then outside the city. The church was given the name of St. Nicholas, the patron saints of sailors and seafarers.



Grote Kerk is a triple aisle church. The three aisles of the Grote Kerk each have an oak barrel vaulted ceiling.



The church is 70m long, 33m wide and 20m high and it can seat around 800 people.



The main organ was built between 1778 and 1780. It is the 4th organ of Grote Kerk.



The altar stood where the chest organ now stands.



The choir was an area separated from the rest of the church by the choir screen.



Thanks to its size, acoustics and good natural light, the church is not only used for service of worship but also for concerts, memorial services and other social and administrative meetings.





Grote Kerk is a beautiful church and I'm glad made the stop over at Monnickendam.