Exploring Sint-Jan Kerk - the Netherlands' Longest Church

Visiting historical buildings, museums, and churches gives one a fascinating glimpse into what life was like centuries ago, and that is why I've always had a keen interest in ancient buildings, even as a teen.

I've been sharing much of my Netherlands trip, but still have a couple of places up my sleeve. It's just awesome that we can store our travel memories here in the Pinmapple Community on Hive!

We stayed in Gouda for three nights in an Airbnb, ^{with a very steep spiral staircase} using it as a base to visit some of the surrounding towns and cities.

Sint-Jan Kerk (St John's Church) was just around the corner from where we stayed, and we headed there on our last day. The tickets cost 10 Euro for an audio guide and a map of the church and entitled one to a free visit to the Gouda Museum, but we ran out of time as we had other plans.

Why is it that there are never enough hours in the day when you're having a good time?

This church is part of the largest museums in the Netherlands, and at 123 metres long, it also is the longest church in that country. It naturally is an important landmark in the town of Gouda.
This is a model of the church, we could not take a photo of it in its entirety as the area is more built-up now.

The church has 72 exquisite 16th-century stained glass windows, the Gouda Glasses, each telling a story about the various ages - from Biblical times, the history of the Eighty Year's War, William of Orange, and the Reformation, after which the church became Protestant.
The windows are typical medieval and Renaissance glasswork.

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We were amazed to learn that these windows were dismantled and meticulously packed into boxes to safeguard them in case of damage in the Second World War, an immense task to dismantle and again reinstall after the war ended!

Although Gouda did suffer some damage, they were spared the same fate as the harbour city, Rotterdam, which experienced extensive damage during a blitz in the Second War. Most of its historical buildings were destroyed.

My cellphone camera does not do any justice to the artistry and colours in these exquisite stained glass windows. Seeing the sun shining through with the naked eye, cannot be captured by the camera. However, I tried my best and was always tagging behind while experiencing the audio tour of the church. Fortunately one can do the tour at your own pace, so I did not miss anything, and the kiddos were very patient with Mom!

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This is the section where the choir sits; neither they nor the organist was there, but a recording of an organ playing beautiful hymns in the background could be heard throughout every section of the church.
Click on the LINK if you'd like to see and hear only a minute or so of what I experienced.

It was quite eerie walking on the stone floors that are carved with intricate patterns, and the names of people who are buried in vaults underneath the floor, many of them from the sixteenth century.

As we stepped out of the 16th-century Sint-Jan Kerk back into the year 2023, we were reminded of the impact past events still have on the world we live in today!