St. Martin's Church (also ''Grote kerk'' or ''Martinikerk'';Alle middeleeuwse kerken: van Harlingen tot Wilhelmshaven, P Karstkarel, p. 57 West Frisian: ''Martinitsjerke'') is a Protestant church in

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded on th ...

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 ...

, and one of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

churches in

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

. The current church was built between 1446 and 1461, the small medieval church which stood at that location previously was demolished to build the new one. The tower of the church was built in the 15th century and the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d roof was added in the 17th century. It became a Protestant church during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. There was a major renovation which, apart from work on the tower, ended in 1955. The church is located at the Groot Kerkhof 24 in the centre of Bolsward. It was listed as a

Rijksmonument A (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands had 61,822 l ...

in 1968. It remains in active use, with a weekly Sunday service.

References

Rijksmonuments in Friesland Protestant churches in the Netherlands Buildings and structures completed in 1461 Churches completed in the 1460s {{Netherlands-church-stub