Mary Ann and Dave's Bike Trip out East...and Back!: 245. Europe Bicycle Trip--Grote Kerk of St. Bavo

I decided to pay a small fee and do a tour of the inside of the Grote Kerk of St. Bavo

Outside of Grote Kerk--The Grote Kerk or St. Bavokerk is a Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square of Haarlem. It has dominated the city skyline for centuries. It is built in the Gothic style of architecture. First mention of a church on this spot was made in 1307 but that wooden structure burned down in the 14th century. It was rebuilt and became a cathedral in 1559 but in 1578 it was converted to Protestantism during the Reformation. .

The crossing of the church where all sides of the church come together. The tower of the church rests upon the four big pillars.

A good view of the tapestry paintings on the support columns. The oldest date back to the 15th century.

The floor of the Bavo Church consists entirely of gravestones. There are about 1500 altogether, the oldest of which date back to the 15th century.

Graves were allowed in the church until 1831. The last burial there was for Willem Bilderdijk, a Dutch poet.

The family shields of illustrious Haarlemmers buried here are hanging on the walls.. Regardless of wealth, the corpses rotted as they lay under the stone floor, producing a foul odor. This gave rise to the phrase "stinking rich".

The Christmas Chapel where midday prayer is held daily from May through October.

The North Transept--The bust of King William 1 placed here on the occasion of the opening of the Industrial Exhibiton in Haarlem in 1825.

Sign by Mary's Chapel

The red stone sarcophagi date back to the 12th and 13th centuries. The 15th century box is the oldest "safe" of Haarlem. It is used to hold the town privileges of Haarlem.


The Phoenix brass lecturn which is shaped like a pelican. At least this is what a pelican was thought to look like in 1499.

The memorial stone of two well-known Dutch hydraulic engineers of the 19th century-Christian Brunings and Frederik Willem Conrad.

Painted panel dated 1518 which served as a "model" of the church which was as yet not finished

The ship models were a gift from the Shipbuilders Guild. The ships date from the 16th and 17th centuries and are modeled on the ships that were built in Haarlem at the time.

The choir is closed off at the front by a masterpiece of medieval craftsmanship, a brass rood screen from 1517.

The grave of the Dutch painter, Frans Hals is behind that screen.

On the reverse side of the communion board is a report of the siege of Haarlem (1573). It tells us that the people of Haarlem were so hungry that "Ja honden en catten waren wilbraet gheheten" (dogs and cats were called roast game).

The "Orphan Box" where money was collected for the benefit of orphans

The oldest part of the pulpit dates from 1434. The bannisters are formed by two brass snakes. They symbolize evil fleeing the word.

Bapistry Chapel was used as a burial chapel for the mayor's family De Raet. Left of the chapel a cannonball is stuck in the wall as a reminder of the Spanish siege of Haarlem 1573.

At the Holy Spirit (Bread Bench) the Holy Spirit Masters handed out bread to the poor. The bench dates from 1470.

Holy Spirit Bench-front view

The organ of the Sint-Bavo church (The Christian Muller organ) is one of the world's most historically important organs. It was built inbetween 1735 and 1738 by Christian Muller with stucco decorations by the Amsterdam artist Jan van Logteren. Upon completion it was the largest organ in the world with 60 voices and 32 -feet pedal-towers. The organ has 5068 pipes and is 30 meters high. Mendelssohn and Handel played this organ.and 10 year old Mozart in 1766 also played it. Concerts are held regularly in the church and today while I was touring here someone was playing the organ and I was able to video it.