De Oude Toren (Summer)

Summer - church extended

In the fifteenth century, the church is enlarged and an extra floor is added to the tower. A wall is built around the church and the graveyard. With the recognition of the Republic at the end of the Eighty Years' War (1648), the Protestant faith becomes the religion supported by government and Roman Catholics lose their property to the Republic. Roman Catholics continue to worship but now in so-called clandestine churches. Just a small handful of Protestants use the old church. Its maintenance is a constant source of concern and a financial millstone. The tower, its bells and the graveyard continue to be used by the community as a whole. The choir starts to be used as a little school and as a space for local administrators to meet. 

Caption: Timmerman, Jan Luyken, 1694 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam).