Oude Kerk, Amsterdam
Church building in Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Oude Kerk is a Reformed church in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being the oldest parish church in the city. The oldest structure in Amsterdam, the building was founded around 1213 and consecrated in 1306 as a Roman Catholic church by the bishop of Utrecht with Saint Nicolas as its patron saint. After the Reformation in 1578, it became a Reformed (Calvinist) church, which it remains today. It is located in De Wallen and since 2012, the church has also housed contemporary art exhibitions. The square surrounding the church is the Oudekerksplein.
“Oude Kerk, Amsterdam” enters the record as church building in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Oude, Kerk and Amsterdam can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Oude Kerk, Amsterdam” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Oude, Kerk and Amsterdam provides the most credible route into that argument.
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 Aug 31, 2026. The first chronological checks are 1213, 1306, 1578 and 2012.
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.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Oude Kerk, Amsterdam”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Oude Kerk, Amsterdam primary sources, Oude Kerk, Amsterdam archive and Oude research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Oude Kerk, Amsterdam”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Oude Kerk, Amsterdam” 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.