Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: kerktoren

Firdgum is a small village on a terp (a man made mound), created in the Middle Ages. The little village has about 30 houses and 70 inhabitants. Until 1794 there was a 13th century Reformed church, dedicated to St. Nicolas. The church was demolished in 1794 as it was too dilapidated and dangerous to hold services in. The tower made of bricks - which still contains a bell from 1471 - has remained and still rises like a 19 meter high landmark in the flat landscape. The three-storey gabled tower was restored in 1922 and a Lombard band was added. In 1986 the tower was restored again. The church tower is a national heritage monument of the Netherlands.

When nowadays visiting Ransdorp, it is almost unbelievable this rural and pastoral village once was a medium sized trading village with more ships at sea than Amsterdam. During the Golden Age of this area - about 1450-1570 - numerous shipping entrepreneurs and skippers lived in Ransdorp. Around 1545, more people from Waterland than from Amsterdam sailed to the Baltic Sea. The richly decorated flat and oversized church tower - late gothic style - reminds the people of Ransdorp of the heyday of their village. A lovely village - just 8 km’s from Amsterdam - with wooden green coloured houses. It is a tiny place with about 250 inhabitants. At thirty-two metres in height it is far-and-away the tallest building, not just in the village but in all the villages in the area. Started in the first half of the 16th century, the tower was supposed to have a spire but was never completed, most probably due to a lack of money. The church itself was built in 1719 and replaced an church from the Middle Ages. Nowadays it use for expositions, receptions and other cultural events. During the summer season the church and tower are open for visitors and you can climb the 155 stair steps to the top of the tower for a stunning view over the surrounding area.

The 'Martinitoren' is with its height of 97 metres the most well known and remarkable landmark of the city of Groningen. Originally the church (Martinikerk) had an indoor tower, but after it collapsed a new tower was built (between 1470 and 1550) west of the main church. The inhabitants of Groningen call it ‘d'Olle Grieze’ (Old Grey One) after the colour of the bricks. The 'Martinikerk' got its name from Sint Martinus or Sint Maarten (Saint Martin) and still some murals of him as well as others can be seen in the choir of the church. These beautiful paintings are dating back to the year of 1545. The ceiling has a warm blue colour. The nave of the church is really impressive and has one of the biggest baroque organs in northern Europe. The construction of this organ started already in 1480 and was finished in the 19th century.

The spire, called Westertoren, of the Westerkerk (Western Church) on the bank of the Prinsengracht is the highest church tower in Amsterdam with its 85 meters. The church, designed by the famous Dutch architect Hendrick de Keyser, was built between 1620 and 1631 in the Dutch Renaissance style. Older churches in Amsterdam were originally built by Roman Catholics and were converted to Protestantism during the Reformation in 1578. The Westerkerk was one of the first purposely built Protestant churches. Today the Westerkerk is the largest church in the Netherlands that was built for Protestants. Rembrandt van Rijn is buried in the Westerkerk, as are several other famous Dutch artists. Anne Frank was soothed by the chimes of the church’s clock tower while in hiding and mentioned it several times in her famous diary. Former Queen Beatrix was also married there back in 1966.