The Maranatha Church is located just outside the city center in the Duinoord district of The Hague. It is a modest, intimate building with a surprising appearance. The acoustics in the church are excellent. It is an ideal place for concerts, lectures and lectures. The building also has a lot to offer architecture enthusiasts.
Cultural and ideological program
Characteristic of the Maranatha Church is the extensive cultural and philosophical program. There are well-attended theme meetings at the intersection of spirituality and society. Concerts and Bach cantata services also attract a wide audience. The church is home to the renowned Hague Baroque orchestra Musica Poëtica conducted by Jörn Boysen.
Church services
Church services are held every Sunday in the Maranatha Church. Music plays an important role in this. Not as decoration, but as an independent part of the worship service, next to the spoken word. The church is part of the Protestant Church in The Hague.
History Maranatha Church
The Maranatha Church occupies a unique place in The Hague's reconstruction architecture. The building is a prototype of a famous series of German 'emergency churches' from the time after the Second World War. The spiritual father of the emergency churches was the German master builder Otto Bartning. The Dutch architect Frits Eschauzier has integrated a donated roof construction in his own design. The church has been a municipal monument since 2018.
The interior is a good example of a 'Gesamtkunstwerk'. Furniture and colors are carefully matched. The rich detailing of the parts is striking. The liturgical center reflects the views of the Liturgical Movement, an innovative movement in the Reformed Church since 1945. The organ is a medium-sized instrument by the Northern Netherlands organ builder Mense Ruiter from 1952.
Church of Peace
The Maranathakerk presents itself as a 'peace church' in The Hague, given its location on the site of the Atlantic Wall from the Second World War, the German defense line around the harbor of Scheveningen. After the liberation, the building was a gift to The Hague from the Swiss Protestant churches. The church was a co-initiator of the Atlantikwall memorial route in The Hague, which was opened in 2015.
Accessibility
The Maranatha Church is located in the Duinoord district, at 2e Sweelinckstraat 156. The building is easily accessible by public transport. Trams 3, 11 and 16 stop in the vicinity, as do bus lines 21 and 24. Paid parking is available in the surrounding streets from 13:00 to 24:00.
