Grote+Kerk

The Grote Kerk is a marvelous gothic style church that was built in the central market square in Haarlem, Netherlands. Grote Kerk is a very important structure to the city, adding a lot to the skyline, making the city look more extravagant and unique. The church was built in 1479 by architects Godevaert de Bosscher, Steven van Afflighem, and Evert van Antwerpen. The first mention of the wooden structure was 1307, but it burned in the 14th century. It was then rebuilt in 1479 and was promoted to a chapter church, becoming a cathedral in 1559. The term “Catholic” was never really associated with this church since it was only considered a cathedral since 1559, right in the middle of the Protestant Reformation era. The church has only changed its exterior twice in the past 500 years.

The inside of the church has also not changed much over time. This cathedral has many stained glass windows along the walls of the church. The pipe organ is a beautiful musical instrument and one of the world’s most historically important organs. The sounds are constructed by driving the pressured air through the pipes. Each pipe from the organ produces a single pitch and the pipes are in sets called ranks. There’s more than one keyboard and they are played by hands and feet.

Graves were allowed in the church until 1831 and many Haarlemmers throughout centuries were buried there. There is a local story that says there is a grave of a man that hit his mother when he was a child. It’s under stone number 7 near the copper gate that a copper plate was placed in order to stop his hand from emerging from the ground.