| Nieuwe Kerk | |
|---|---|
 Nieuwe Kerk, Delft | |
 Nieuwe Kerk | |
| 52°00′44″N4°21′39″E / 52.0123°N 4.3609°E /52.0123; 4.3609 | |
| Location | Delft,Netherlands |
| Denomination | Protestant Church in the Netherlands |
| Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Architecture | |
| Designated | Dutchrijksmonument #11872 |
| Architectural type | Church tower |
| Style | Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1396 |
| Completed | 1496 |
| Specifications | |
| Height | 108.75 m (356.79 ft) |
TheNieuwe Kerk (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈniu.əˈkɛr(ə)k]; English:New Church) is aProtestant church in the city ofDelft in theNetherlands. The building is located on Delft Market Square (Markt), opposite to theCity Hall (Dutch:Stadhuis). In 1584,William the Silent was entombed here in amausoleum designed byHendrick andPieter de Keyser. Since then, members of theHouse of Orange-Nassau have been entombed in the royal crypt. The latest members to have been entombed areQueen Juliana and her husbandPrince Bernhard in 2004. The private royal family crypt is not open to the public. The church tower, with the most recent recreation of the spire, was designed byPierre Cuypers and completed in 1872.[1] It is the second highest in the Netherlands, after theDomtoren inUtrecht.
The New Church, formerly the church ofSt. Ursula (14th century), is the burial place of the princes of Orange.[2] The church is remarkable for its fine tower and chime of bells, containing the splendid allegorical monument of William the Silent. It was crafted by Hendrik de Keyser and his son Pieter about the year 1621, and the tomb ofHugo Grotius, born in Delft in 1583, whose statue, erected in 1886, stands in the marketplace outside the church.[2]Grotius' wife,Maria van Reigersberch, who had helped him escape in 1621 from his imprisonment atLoevestein Castle hidden in a book chest,[3][4] is also buried there with her husband.[5] The tower of the church was built 1396-1496 by Jacob van der Borch, who also built the Dom in Utrecht during the years 1444-1475.[6] The monument for Hugo de Groot was made in 1781.[6] The mechanical clock has 18 bells, made byFrancois Hemony from 1659.[6] In the church tower there is a bell from 1662 by Francois Hemony with a diameter of 104 centimeters.[6] In the tower there are also bells no longer in use, including 13 from 1659 by Francois Hemony, 3 from 1678 by Pieter Hemony, 3 from 1750 from Joris de Mery, and 1 from Gillett and Johnston from 1929.[6]
The Kerk appears in the golden Age painting byCarel Fabritius,A View of Delft.[7] In 1586, Flemish scientistSimon Stevin used the church's tower toconduct an experiment on gravitational forces.[8]
In September 2021, archaeologists announced that the remains of around 200 people had been discovered during the expansion of the royal burial chamber at Nieuwe Kerk.[9][10][11]
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Eleven people are buried in the old vault:[12][13]
35 people are buried in the new vault:[12][13]
William III, Prince of Orange, is not buried in the royal crypt. He is buried inWestminster Abbey, due to his position as King of England at the time of his death.
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