Saint Martin's Church Gytsjerk
Gytsjerk
From its 19th-century front with a small façade tower, this church doesn’t look very old. But the building actually dates back to the 12th century, even though it has been altered and repaired many times.
Take a look
From its 19th-century front with a small façade tower, this church doesn’t look very old. But the building actually dates back to the 12th century, even though it has been altered and repaired many times.
The oldest tuff-stone masonry can still be seen mainly on the north and south sides and around the choir. The north wall is “blind” (without windows), although you can still trace the outline of a small round-arched window. In the 18th century, large round-arched windows were inserted into the south wall. The most striking feature outside is the decoration of the five-sided choir: slender colonettes of pink Bremian sandstone with bases and ring capitals of tuff stone.
Inside, beneath the wooden barrel vault, you’ll find 18th-century furnishings. Opposite the pulpit stands a canopied “gentlemen’s pew” with finely carved columns. Don’t miss the three enormous mourning cabinets in the choir closure: they date from the mid-18th century and feature rich carving in Baroque and Louis XVI styles. The organ from 1896 is also well worth seeing.
Extra information
The Martinus Church, located some distance from the present village centre, appears young at first glance, mainly because of its 19th-century western front. The church was built at the end of the 12th century. Despite later changes, the north and south walls and especially the choir still show clear traces of the Romanesque tuff-stone church. In the first half of the 16th century, the nave and choir were raised and the wooden barrel vault was added. The west section with basket-arched entrances, the gable wall with pointed-arch window heads and a circular window, and the wooden slate-clad façade tower with a slender spire date from the first half of the 19th century.
Under the barrel vault, most furnishings date from the mid-18th century. The pulpit with sounding board stands within a baptistry rail. The choir is dominated by three large mourning cabinets (1742, 1744 and 1762) with richly carved Baroque and Louis XVI ornament. The organ on the west gallery was built in 1896 by Bakker & Timmenga.
Style: Romanesque
Date: late 12th century; west façade & tower: first half 19th century
Denomination: Protestant
Highlights: pulpit with baptism rail, gentlemen’s pew, mourning cabinets, organ
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