The late-Gothic Pieterskerk is the last of a long line of churches on this site in central Leiden. In the early 12th century, a Romanesque chapel for the Counts of Holland was built at the location. As Leiden grew in prominence, perched at the confluence of the Oude Rijn and the Nieuwe Rijn Rivers, Pieterskerk expanded accordingly and was converted into a parish church in 1268. (...)
The late-Gothic Pieterskerk is the last of a long line of churches on this site in central Leiden. In the early 12th century, a Romanesque chapel for the Counts of Holland was built at the location. As Leiden grew in prominence, perched at the confluence of the Oude Rijn and the Nieuwe Rijn Rivers, Pieterskerk expanded accordingly and was converted into a parish church in 1268. Only 30 years later, the chapel was replaced by a much larger structure topped by a 110-meter-high bell tower called the “King of the Sea.”
The construction of the current Pieterskerk began in 1390 and was not completed for 180 years. The current church, was designed by Rutger van Keulen, and is laid out in a Latin cross plan. It is perhaps most famous now for its association with the Pilgrim Fathers, who lived in Leiden before departing for the New World. Preacher John Robinson (1575-1625) is buried in the church. In 1807, a ship filled with gunpowder exploded on the water nearby, shattering the windows of the church, which were subsequently reconstructed. The church was deconsecrated in 1971, and since 1975 has been used as an events venue, though it is also open to the public. Though Pieterskerk is one of Leiden’s most treasured monuments, it proved difficult to conserve because of its multiple phases of construction and was in much need of work at the end of the 20th century.
