"nice sightings"

abel sanchez

"Finding the Grote Kerk (Great Church), Oudste Kerk (Oldest Church), or Dorpskerk (Village Church) in Assen is a difficult task. Wherever you look—Google, Wikipedia, etc.—no single Grote Kerk appears. We do, however, discover a number of things. The oldest church in Drenthe, well, it's called Vries. From 755 onward, there was a small wooden church that burned down twice. In the 11th century, a stone church was built, which still stands today. The churches of Zuidlaren and Eelde were also built in the Middle Ages. The official date is the 11th century, as evidenced by documents. The Bonifatius Church in Vries was built in the 11th century. The church was named after the English missionary Boniface. Remains of the wooden church have been found beneath the Bonifatius Church. But we also discover the oldest church in the Netherlands, the Basilica of Saint Servatius. The Servatius Crypt in this church dates back to 560 AD. The St. Pancratius Church in Mesch is somewhat younger, but with an age of over 1,000 years, it occupies second place in the top 100 oldest churches in the Netherlands. Number three on the list is the remarkable "Oude Kerk" (Old Church) of Oosterbeek. This church also existed before the second millennium. But now for Assen. While it clearly mentions the Monastery Church, we can already reveal that this church has also served many other purposes. The monastery church, also known as the abbey church, originally belonged to the Cistercian Mariënkamp nunnery in Assen. A charter from 1276 mentions the monastery's presence, but it was likely already established in Assen by 1260. The monastery also had a church, naturally the monastery church. Not much is known about it, but until the Reformation, it was naturally a Roman Catholic church and after that, a Reformed church. Not for long, however, because in 1601 the tower collapsed, severely damaging the church and rendering it unfit for use. In 1615, Assen became a separate Reformed Church, which, due to a lack of a church building, had to hold services in one of the other rooms of the monastery. The monastery church was not rebuilt until 1662. For over two centuries, the Reformed Church of Assen held its services in the monastery church. In 1810, a gallery was built in the church, and in 1817, the building was expanded on the east side with a chancel, lengthening the building by approximately 12 meters. However, due to the growth of Assen's population, the church finally became too small. In 1848, the new Grote Kerk (Great Church) on the church square was opened, and the monastery church was sold to the municipality of Assen for 10,000 guilders (over €4,500). From 1851 onward, the municipality of Assen used the monastery church as its town hall for exactly one hundred years. Until 1904, it also housed the police station. After the church was restored in 1982, it became part of the Drents Museum. During the restoration of the monastery church, the tower was repositioned in the center of the church and fitted with a bell. The following inscription, referring to the building's various purposes, is inscribed on the edge: "I am without abbess, now that the book is closed, and the board has departed, devoted to the muses." That's it, then, over what became the Grote Kerk (Great Church)."

Leo J.F. de Ruiter

"Part of the Drents Museum. Regularly hosts interesting exhibitions."

Pieter Brouwer