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Churches

New Church

Spui 175, 2511 BM The Hague
Ensemble van Rembrandt Frerichs in de Nieuwe Kerk Foto Rob Hogeslag
Contact
070 88 00 373
The New Church in The Hague was built by the architects Pieter Noorwits & Barthold van Bassen in the Dutch classical/baroque style. The foundation stone was laid in 1649. The church was completed in 1656. The New Church has an abundance of wood carvings from the 17th century, an oak roof construction and high stained glass windows. It belongs to the 'Top 100 of Dutch monuments'. Today, the beautifully restored church hosts concerts, performances, meetings and conferences.
De Nieuwe Kerk Den Haag opent deze zomer de deuren voor publiek. Bezoek deze parel midden in de binnenstad van Den Haag elke woensdag van 12.00 tot 15.00 uur.
The New Church

Special map

Several aspects of the New Church are noteworthy. The floor plan consists of two adjacent hexagons, so that the church has two transverse axes in addition to a main axis. This fact takes on special significance in the knowledge that the church was specially designed for Protestant worship. The division associated with the church service has taken shape in the floor plan: the proclamation of the Word is central and the congregation gathers around it.

Construction

The church is located on a walled site, originally a cemetery, giving the construction a 'temenos-like' character. The roof of the church is exceptional in construction and spatial effect. Nowhere does the hood rest on columns or pillars and draw beams are also missing; the hood is supported by four buttresses and rests further on the pavilions emphasizing latitude and longitude axes. This construction allows the eye to wander through an uninterrupted space and to rest on important inventory items such as gentlemen's benches, pulpit, stadtholder's bench and baptismal gate, the carving of which was done by Engel Westerwout (1651), so that the centralized basic form comes into its own.

Organ

The organ was built in 1702 Joh. Duyschot (and largely renovated in 1867), as painted shutters by Th. van der Schuer.

Concert and conference venue

Today, the New Church is used as a conference and concert center. In 1997, architect Cees Spanjers made an acoustic adjustment so that the church hall has perfect acoustics for chamber music (a glass hall principle).

Het grafmonument van Baruch Spinoza Foto Rob Hogeslag
Het grafmonument van Baruch Spinoza

The garve of Baruch Spinoza - Philosopher, mathematician, political thinker

He is regarded as one of the most influential philosophers in Dutch history: Baruch Spinoza. Born in 1632, he was of Sephardic Jewish descent and grew up in Amsterdam. During the 'early' enlightenment, when people wondered what is true in the Bible, Baruch also began to have his doubts about the Talmud and the Torah. He calls them inventions of the human fantasy.... He emphasized reason. In 1656 a Cherem (ban) was pronounced and he was expelled from the Sephardic congregation.

Spinoza died of tuberculosis on 21 February 1677 and was buried in the New Church. This rented grave was cleared in 1738. A funerary monument has been erected on the former churchyard the rear. After the visit of the Israeli statesman David Ben Gurion in 1958, a black basalt stone from the mountains of Galilee was placed with the text 'Amcha' (your people). The recumbent stone contains the text 'Terra hic Benedicti' (Latin for the blessed) de Spinoza in 'Ecclesias Nova olim sepulti ossa tegit'. (This earth covers Benedict de Spinoza, anciently buried in the New Church).

Accessibility

The New Church is located in the city center of The Hague and is easily accessible by various means of transport. You can park your car at the Parking Garage Stadhuis. In addition, theNew Church is also easy to reach by public transport. Central Station is within walking distance.

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