Amsterdam
The Westerkerk is a Protestant church built between 1620 and 1631. Its tower, about 87 metres tall, is the highest in Amsterdam.
A new church for a growing city
In the early 1600s Amsterdam was spreading out with new canals. This church was built for the new neighbourhoods.
Inside, the church is shaped like a large rectangle. The wooden ceiling over the central part reaches 27.5 metres. In 2007 the sculptor Hans 't Mannetje created a prayer corner there, where you can light a candle. The design is by Hendrick de Keyser; after his death, his son Pieter finished the work.
The church opened in 1631. It was one of the first big churches built specially for Protestants.
What to look at
The tower rises in ever smaller levels, like stacked boxes. Above the clock is the carillon.
The church is 48 metres long and 28 wide: two tennis courts would fit inside, end to end.
Who rests here
Many people from the 1600s are buried in the church. Among them is the painter Rembrandt, who died in 1669. A memorial stone on the north side remembers him. Joan Blaeu is here too, a printer and famous maker of maps.
