The Oude Kerk was consecrated around 1306 and is the oldest building in Amsterdam — a medieval church that the red light district grew up around rather than the other way round. Rembrandt’s wife is buried under the floor, the wooden ceiling is the largest medieval vault in Europe, and the nave is now used for contemporary art installations. From €14,50. And, unlike the Westertoren, the tower can be climbed.
The oldest building in Amsterdam
Everything else in the centre is younger than this. The Oude Kerk began as a wooden chapel, was rebuilt in stone and consecrated around 1306, and then grew outward for two centuries as the city got richer — a chapel added here, an aisle there — which is why the plan is so irregular. It survived the Alteration of 1578, when Amsterdam turned Protestant and the altars and statues were removed, and it survived the centuries afterwards in which the neighbourhood around it became what it is now.
That contrast is the point of a visit. You step off the Oudekerksplein, past the windows, into a silent medieval hall. The church has leaned into it: since 2012 it has run as an art institution as well as a monument, commissioning artists to make work for the building itself. Some of it is very good and some of it is not, but it keeps the church from being a museum of itself.
| Oude Kerk Amsterdam | |
|---|---|
| Address | Oudekerksplein 23, 1012 GX Amsterdam |
| Opening hours | Monday to Saturday 10:00–18:00, Sunday 13:00–17:30 |
| Price | From €14,50 |
| Rating | 4.1 out of 5 on Tiqets, but from fewer than twenty reviews — take it lightly |
| Consecrated | Around 1306 |
| Buried here | Saskia van Uylenburgh, Rembrandt’s wife, in 1642 |
| The ceiling | The largest medieval wooden vault in Europe |
| Tower climb | 25 April to 31 October, Wednesday to Sunday. 155 steps, 67 metres |
| Getting there | Five minutes from Central Station, in the middle of De Wallen |
Check availability and book the Oude Kerk
What you see inside
- The ceiling — a wooden barrel vault from the fifteenth century, the largest of its kind in Europe, with painted panels that were whitewashed at the Reformation and rediscovered in the twentieth century.
- The floor — 2,500 graves under 1,500 slabs, with roughly ten thousand Amsterdammers beneath them. You walk on all of it. Saskia van Uylenburgh, who married Rembrandt in 1634 and died in 1642, is in grave number 29K.
- The stained glass — the Mariakapel windows are among the few pre-Reformation windows left in the country.
- The organs — three of them, including the Vater-Müller of 1726, one of the great baroque organs of northern Europe. There are regular recitals.
- The misericords — carved seat ledges in the choir with proverbs and jokes on them, some of them rude, which is the sort of thing medieval carpenters did where the clergy would not look.
- The contemporary art — one commissioned installation at a time in the nave, changed a few times a year and included in the ticket.
Climbing the tower
This is worth knowing about, because the Westertoren is closed for restoration and most guides still send people there for the view. The Oude Kerk tower is open, and almost nobody mentions it.
- Season — 25 April to 31 October.
- Days and times — Wednesday to Saturday at 13:00, 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00; Sundays at 13:30, 14:30, 15:30 and 16:30.
- The climb — 155 steps to 67 metres, up narrow stairs. Sensible shoes, and not for anyone who struggles with heights or stairs.
- Minimum height — 1.20 metres.
- Booking — tower tickets are sold only together with entry to the church, online or at the door.
From the top you look straight down on De Wallen and across to the harbour, which is a different view from the canal-belt one everybody photographs.
Practical points
- It is a working monument in a busy area. Photography inside is fine; photographing the windows outside on the square is not, and is the fastest way to get into trouble in this neighbourhood.
- Sunday opening is short — 13:00 to 17:30 — because of services.
- The church is largely accessible on the flat; the tower is not.
- Organ recitals and concerts are frequent and often free or cheap. Check the calendar before you book a daytime ticket, because the church closes for some of them.
- It is five minutes from Central Station and in the middle of the red light district, so it combines with a walk through De Wallen.
- The Museumkaart is valid.
More on our Amsterdam museums page.
Frequently asked questions
It was consecrated around 1306, which makes it the oldest surviving building in Amsterdam. It grew outward over the following two centuries, which is why its floor plan is so irregular.
From €14,50, including whatever contemporary art installation is in the nave. Tower tickets are sold only in combination with church entry. The Dutch Museumkaart is valid.
Yes, from 25 April to 31 October, Wednesday to Sunday in the afternoon. It is 155 steps to a height of 67 metres, the minimum height is 1.20 metres, and tickets are sold only together with entry to the church.
No, Rembrandt is buried in the Westerkerk. His wife Saskia van Uylenburgh is buried in the Oude Kerk, in grave 29K, where she was laid in 1642.
Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00 and Sunday from 13:00 to 17:30. It closes for services and some concerts, so check before travelling.
Because the church came first. It was consecrated around 1306 and the city grew around it; the neighbourhood’s present character developed centuries later.
