De Oude Kerk, Delft

On Saturday, I went to Delft.  Delft is, most notably, the place where all of the Delft China is made.  It was also the site of William the Silent's headquarters during the Eighty Year's War.  The Oude Kerk is, obviously, the Old Church.  The church is around 800 years old.  During the 16th century, a massive fire swept through Delft, after the Nieuwe Kerk was struck by lightning, which was so hot that it melted the clock on the church tower.














This is the tower of the Oude Kerk from the courtyard of Het Prinsenhof.  The funny angle is not a result of my poor photography skills.  The tower leans significantly, probably because of subsidence (which is a major problem in the Netherlands).  The tower leans almost two meters--over 6 feet!  It has been leaning for a couple of hundred years, at least, though, so it will probably be okay for a bit.


There are all sorts of famous folks buried in the church.  Including Johannes Vermeer.  Please notice that I am included in this picture as well.  Those are my tennis shoes at the bottom.












This skull and cross-bones was on one of the memorials.  The missing teeth look very specific so I wonder if they were missing on the guy who died.  Notice the crown of laurels around the head.

The church is oddly put together because it has the shape of a Catholic church but is used as a Protestant church.  It two different pulpits and three different organs set up in different little areas.

There is currently an English language Reformed Evangelical church meeting here.

This is the main pulpit and the main organ.































This little organ is very cute, I think, and is on the wall off to the side.

This is the second pulpit.  It is in an area that is currently under construction.  It has different carvings on it, including this one which I assume represents the Inspiration of the Scriptures.
























The Oude Kerk is known for its beautiful stained glass windows.  They are all barely 50 years old.  An explosion of 90,000 pounds of gunpowder at a nearby powder magazine blew out all of the existing windows in the 17th century.  They were replaced with these new windows starting in the 1940s.

This is the "Liberation Window" or the "William the Silent Window."
The window depicts the members of the royal family and members of the court.

The Oude Kerk from the top of the tower of the Nieuwe Kerk.