New Church
Nieuwe Kerk

The Nieuwe Kerk is a 15th-century church in Amsterdam, located on Dam Square, next to the Royal Palace.

The Nieuwe Kerk is no longer used for church services but is used as an exhibition space. After the Oude Kerk ("Old Church") grew too small for the expanding population of the town, the bishop of Utrecht in 1408 gave permission to build a second parish church, the Nieuwe Kerk ("New Church").

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 Gothic style. It underwent major renovation in 1892–1914, which added many neo-Gothic details, and was again renovated in 1959–1980. 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.

The church is used for Dutch royal investiture ceremonies (as per Article 32 of the Dutch Constitution) most recently that of King Willem-Alexander in 2013, as well as royal weddings, most recently the wedding of Willem-Alexander to Máxima in 2002. The investitures of Queen Wilhelmina, Juliana and Beatrix also took place there.

Photo 30