Oude Kerk

The Oude Kerk, or Old Church, is the oldest building in Amsterdam and its oldest parish church. A wooden chapel stood on the site by about 1213, and the stone church was consecrated in 1306 and dedicated to Saint Nicholas, patron saint of sailors. Over the following centuries it was enlarged again and again, and it survived the Reformation of 1578, when its Catholic decoration was stripped away and it became a Protestant church.

Inside, the great wooden vault, one of the largest medieval wooden roofs in Europe, still bears traces of painted decoration, and the floor is made up of gravestones that tell the story of the city's merchants, sailors and families. Rembrandt's wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh, was buried here in 1642, and every year on 9 March (8 March in leap years) a beam of morning sunlight briefly lights her grave. The church has four pipe organs, including the Vater-Müller organ of 1724, considered one of the finest Baroque organs in Europe and fully restored between 2014 and 2019.

Since 2012 the Oude Kerk has also worked as a venue for contemporary art. Artists, including Christian Boltanski and Janet Cardiff, have made site-specific installations that respond to the building and its history, so the experience changes from one exhibition to the next. This mix of medieval architecture and modern art makes it appealing to both history lovers and those interested in contemporary work.

The church opens Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm and on Sunday from 1pm to 5.30pm. Tickets can be bought online, and the website lists current exhibitions and organ concerts. Allow about an hour. The church stands in the middle of De Wallen, the red-light district, so a morning visit is the calmest time to come, and families may prefer to approach from Warmoesstraat during the day.

The church is about five minutes' walk from Central Station and close to Dam Square. Nearby, Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder, a 17th-century house with a hidden Catholic church in its attic, makes a good companion visit, and Nieuwmarkt, with its cafés around the old weigh house, is a short walk east.