Description: The Oude Kerk (Old Church) stands rather incongruously in the Red Light district of Amsterdam. Built in the 14th century as a replacement for an earlier wooden structure and dedicated to Saint Nicholas.
Given Amsterdam’s standing as a port and a centre of commerce perhaps it is no surprise that the church was dedicated to the patron Saint of, amongst other things, pawnbrokers, merchants, water, and sailors. The church escaped the fire of 1452, which destroyed much of the city and in 1565 the church's tower was built.
The interior of the church is large and quite spartan with its stone floor and plain walls, which I imagine provide a good backdrop to the exhibitions the church sometimes hosts. Decoration is in the form of some interesting stained glass windows, the ornamented organ, the vaulted ceiling and – my favourite – the carved wooden choir stalls.
The choir stalls are carved with small vignettes many of which represent proverbs or sayings such as "It’s like trying to out-yawn an oven door: A person can’t yawn as wide as an oven door, i.e. don’t try to accomplish the impossible”.
Look out for the one that represents “money doesn’t grow on trees”. Let’s just say that the money isn’t falling out of a tree but out of someone’s... I shall let you guess!
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