Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk (Rotterdam)
church in Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Grote Kerk or Sint-Laurenskerk (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣroːtə ʔɔf sɪnt ˈlʌurənsˌkɛr(ə)k]; English: Great, or St. Lawrence Church) is a Protestant church in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is the only remnant of the medieval city of Rotterdam.
History
The church was built as a Roman Catholic Church between 1449 and 1525. In 1621 a wooden spire was added to the tower, designed by Hendrick de Keyser. Poor quality of its wood caused the spire to be demolished in 1645. A stone cube was added to the tower, though it proved too heavy for the foundation in 1650. New piles were driven under the tower and in 1655 the tower stood straight again.
The basilica was the first all-stone building in Rotterdam. The last priest of the Laurenskerk was Hubertus Duifhuis.
The public source identifies “Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk (Rotterdam)” as church in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Grote, Sint-Laurenskerk and Rotterdam.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk (Rotterdam)”, the useful work is to connect “church in Rotterdam, the Netherlands” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q922407. VIAF identifies the subject as 268772532. The Library of Congress control number is n97076902. Authority coordinates are 51.921, 4.485. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1449, 1525, 1621 and 1645.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk (Rotterdam)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.