The mighty Grote Sint-Laurenskerk stands in the middle of the small and beautiful old town of Alkmaar. The church building is better known in the city as the Laurenskerk or Grote Kerk.
The first verifiable church building here was a small wooden church from the early 10th century, which fell victim to a fire in 1133. Subsequent buildings were also not preserved. When the church tower under construction collapsed in 1468, Alkmaar decided to build a new church in the Brabant Gothic style.
The master builder was probably Andries I. Keldermans (1400-1488) from Mechelen (now in Belgium), who died during the construction period. His son completed the building. The foundation stone was laid in the summer of 1470 and the church is now thought to have been completed in 1518. This was followed by the interior work, which was constantly changing as it progressed.
Initially the church was still Catholic, but in 1573 it came into Protestant hands. During the iconoclasm, large parts of the Catholic furnishings were removed, such as altarpieces, images of saints and confessionals.
Current use
In 1996, the church decided to no longer use the building and deconsecrated the church. Today it is owned by the Foundation for the Preservation of Monumental Churches in Alkmaar.
The organs are still present in the church and the space is used for concerts. But other cultural events such as exhibitions or theater performances are now also held there.
When I was in Alkmaar, there was a small baby mass in the church. I really like it when the potential of the space continues to be used and there is an opportunity to preserve a building.
In the summer months, unless an event is taking place, the church can be visited free of charge. In winter, the Lauernskerk is only open for events.
Is it worth going to the Lauernskerk?
Although the church is no longer a “house of worship” in the ecclesiastical sense, it is still visually a church, just without pews.
Even if it wasn’t easy to discover the ecclesiastical elements during the baby market, it was definitely worth it!
The brick building has a cruciform floor plan. The nave has three aisles, the transept was built with one aisle. The choir aisle has no side chapels and a small atrium was built in the west. This is clearly visible from the outside.
The crossing tower is also clearly visible from the outside. It was faced with white natural stone in 1525 and the carillon can be seen through the openings.
Inside, I was immediately impressed by the wooden barrel vault of the central nave. It is rare to see such a well-preserved vault. If you look closely, you can also discover some wall paintings in the church. Some of the paintings are unfortunately covered by porches, but they have been restored and still adorn the nave.
The Protestant pulpit from 1655 is all that remains of the former church furnishings. In my opinion, however, it is very inconspicuous. In contrast, the choir screen and the beautiful Gothic choir stalls are somewhat more eye-catching.
If you look at the floor of the Grote Kerk, you will notice that you are actually only walking over old gravestones. Until 1830, it was still customary to bury the deceased in the church. There are said to be up to 8 layers of deceased people under the gravestones. If you are familiar with the Dutch personalities of the time, you will find a gravestone of the painter Caesar van Everdingen, for example.
The window!
The windows of the Grote Sint-Laurenskerk are well worth seeing. In the transept, there are two of the largest Gothic windows in Europe, which extend almost the entire height of the wall. One of these windows was redesigned in 2023 and is now one of the church’s main attractions.
The artist Fiona Tan (photographer, video artist, filmmaker) designed the 23-metre-high and 6-metre-wide window, which consists of 214 individual panels, according to the motto “The Light of Freedom”.
The idea for the design was a kaleidoscope that she used to play with as a child. Her grandfather had made it himself from fragments of the windows of Reims Cathedral. The colorful glass fragments in the tube constantly changed as the tube was turned and the light shone in, revealing ever new patterns.
Tan’s color scheme was inspired by the sunrise in the Netherlands. The lower part of the window is dominated by warm yellow and orange tones, which later fade into shades of blue.
Tan created 214 panels for the window in the Grote Sint-Laurenskerk, each consisting of up to 250 individual parts. The glass is mouth-blown, cut by hand and leaded. No matter how closely you look, no two panels are the same. Impressive, beautiful and unique. Due to the constantly changing play of the sun, you will never get the same impression of the window.
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More InformationInformations
Address
Koorstraat 2
1811 GP Alkmaar
Website Grote Sint-Laurenskerk
Opening hours
End of May – mid-September
Tuesday – Sunday: during the day
Due to events taking place, it is advisable to check the exact times in advance on the church website: https://grotekerk-alkmaar.nl/je-bezoek/openingstijden/.
Tickets
Access to the church is free of charge as long as no events are taking place.
The visit took place as part of a press trip with Visit Alkmaar.
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