The Amstelkerk () is a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

church building in central

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It lies in the southern part of the

Grachtengordel The Grachtengordel (, ), known in English as the Canal District, is a neighborhood in Amsterdam, Netherlands located in the Amsterdam-Centrum, Centrum district. The seventeenth-century canals of Amsterdam, located in the center of Amsterdam, wer ...

neighborhood, near the Amstel River, between the Prinsengracht, Reguliersgracht and Keizersgracht. The church was designed by

Daniël Stalpaert Daniël Stalpaert or Daniel Stalpert (1615, in Amsterdam – buried 3 December 1676, in Amsterdam), was a Dutch architect, painter, town carpenter, print artist and draftsman. He was the first city architect in Amsterdam, a position that wou ...

and was originally intended as a wooden emergency church, erected to provide for church services in the fourth Golden Age extension of Amsterdam laid out in 1662, but it was never replaced by a more permanent building. The church was expanded several times starting in 1673 with annexes built of stone. The interior originally had a very modest appearance, but was replaced by a

neogothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

design by Hendrik Springer in 1842. In the early 19th century, plans were drawn up, but never executed, to build the Dutch

Mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

in the square next to church. The church was bought by Stadsherstel Amsterdam in the late 1980s, which completed renovations in 1990. The building is no longer in use as a church. Some parts of the building have been converted to office space, and the church is used for classical concerts. The building is open to the public on weekdays from 9:00 to 17:00.

Trivia

Johannes Paulus Stricker, the uncle of

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

, was a preacher in the Amstelkerk.

References

External links

Amstelkerk
official website of the owner of the church, Stadsherstel Buildings of the Dutch Golden Age Churches in Amsterdam Protestant churches in the Netherlands Religious buildings and structures completed in 1670 Rijksmonuments in Amsterdam 1670 establishments in the Dutch Republic {{Netherlands-church-stub