Nederland - Vlieland, Nicolaaskerk

There has been a chapel - first mentioned in 1245 - at this location on the island of Vlieland, which was dedicated to Saint Nicholas. It became a parish church in the late Middle Ages. Later, it was elevated to a parish church. As the village of West-Vlieland gradually became depopulated (see: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/50819386) and the inhabitants moved to Oost-Vlieland, the need arose for a larger building.

After the Reformation the chapel was replaced by the present building, using bricks from the demolished chapel. The Nicolaaskerk (Nicholas Church) was built in 1605 as an east-west oriented simple hall church. At that point it was one of the first church buildings in the Netherlands built voor Protestant services. In 1647 the church was extended in the direction of the church square and acquired its current form.

The interior of the Nicolaaskerk is famous for the whale jaws that were once used as tombstones, but were brought inside because of the acid rain. Many parts of the church are made of jute wood, like some pews, and a panel of the pulpit once was a door of a ship. The chandeliers were donated by the King of Sweden and Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, one of the most skilled Dutch admirals in history.
(Unfortunately, due to the corona measures, it was not possible for me to visit the interior of the church. We could only catch a glimpse of it from behind a locked glass door.)

The last restoration of the - nowadays - only church on Vlieland was in 1997. For a time it was known as Hervormde Kerk, but is now named by its original name, Nicolaaskerk. In addition to services, it serves also as a venue for concerts.