Hendrick de Keyser’s Westerkerk was commissioned for Amsterdam’s seventeenth-century expansion. Its central pulpit, prominent magistrates’ pews and painted organ shutters reveal how worship and civic life shared one room. Nearby, the Westertoren links the Jordaan skyline to Rembrandt’s burial and Anne Frank’s diary.
Quick facts
The church was designed by Hendrick de Keyser and opened for worship in 1631; the Westertoren was completed in 1638.
Rembrandt’s 8 October 1669 burial is documented in the Westerkerk register, but its exact location inside the church is unknown.
Anne Frank wrote about the tower’s clock; archival research indicates the great bell was removed in late 1942 and returned in 1943.
Get directions to Westerkerk. Confirm the visitor entrance and current access with the venue before travelling.
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Guide
The Westerkerk does two jobs at once: it is a working Protestant church and a deliberately prominent piece of Amsterdam’s seventeenth-century cityscape. Stand back far enough to take in the Westertoren, then look at how the church sits between the Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht. The Amsterdam City Archives places its construction in the city’s newest expansion, where a broad square opened around the building.
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