Oude Kerk, Amsterdam

Oude Kerk, Amsterdam tickets: which one to buy

The Oude Kerk, the Old Church, stands in the heart of Amsterdam's oldest district, De Wallen, now the red-light district, a few minutes' walk from Dam Square and Centraal Station, and it is Amsterdam's oldest building. A ticket is required, because the church is run as a venue for contemporary art exhibitions as well as a church, and the tower can be climbed on guided tours, which give views over the old centre and must be booked.

The setting is unusual, with the church surrounded by windows of the red-light district, and visitors should be respectful and avoid photographing the windows. Walking tours of Amsterdam's old centre pass the church, together with Our Lord in the Attic, a hidden church in a canal house nearby, the Nieuwmarkt and the canals. Concerts on the church's historic organs are held regularly. The church still holds services on Sundays. Tickets for exhibitions and tower tours can be booked online, and the tower climb has limited places.

Visiting Oude Kerk, Amsterdam: what to see

A wooden chapel stood here in the thirteenth century, and the church was consecrated in 1306, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, patron saint of sailors and of Amsterdam, and enlarged over the following centuries into a large Gothic hall church. Its wooden vaulted roof, from the fifteenth century, is one of the largest medieval wooden vaults in Europe and still carries traces of painting. After the Reformation in 1578, the church became Protestant, and its images were removed. The floor is made up of about 2,500 gravestones, and around ten thousand people are buried beneath it, including Saskia van Uylenburgh, the wife of Rembrandt. The church holds a great organ by Christian Vater from 1724, and stained glass windows from the sixteenth century in the Lady Chapel.

Outside, a bronze statue named Belle honours sex workers around the world, and a small bronze relief of a hand on a breast is set into the pavement. The Lady Chapel's stained glass windows, made in the sixteenth century, show the life of the Virgin and survived the Reformation. The choir stalls have carved misericords with scenes of everyday life and proverbs. The church's side chapels were once owned by guilds and families. The bell tower, built in the sixteenth century, holds a carillon, which plays regularly. The church's exhibitions often use the huge space in surprising ways, with installations among the gravestones. The church's history includes being used as a meeting place and a market in earlier centuries.

Oude Kerk, Amsterdam opening hours and the best time to go

The Oude Kerk is open daily, with shorter hours on Sundays because of services, and exhibitions change during the year. The tower tours run at set times from spring to autumn. The red-light district is busy in the evenings and at weekends, and mornings are the quietest time to visit the church. King's Day on 27 April fills the city with street parties. Winter is cold and damp, but the Amsterdam Light Festival brightens the canals in December and January. Allow about forty-five minutes for the church, and visit Our Lord in the Attic nearby. The carillon plays on Saturday afternoons, and the sound fills the old streets around the church.