Westerkerk
The Wester- or St. Gomaruskerk is considered one of the 100 most beautiful national monuments in the Netherlands and is located in the historical heart of Enkhuizen. Construction started around 1470 and would last almost fifty years.
The Westerkerk is a three-aisled hall church. When entering the church, the overwhelming size is striking: 30 metres wide, 70 metres long and 17 metres high inside. The church was built in three phases. They worked from east to west. The original construction plan must have included a tower at the western end of the main nave. That tower could not be built, the money had run out. However, a freestanding wooden bell house was built to the east of the church. This bell house is still there.
Showpieces of ‘de Wester’ are the famous choir screen from 1542, the pulpit and the organ from 1549. This is considered one of the oldest and most beautiful organ cases in the Netherlands. The floor of the church is still completely covered with stone gravestones. The graves are all numbered, there are more than 1500. Because burials were done in 3 layers, there was room in the church for a maximum of 4500 burials. If you take the spiral staircase in the Zuiderportaal to the top, you imagine yourself 400 years back in time. Here you will find the Librije van Enkhuizen. It is the only seventeenth-century city library in the Netherlands that has been preserved in its original location.
The church was built as a Catholic church for farmers, dedicated to Saint Gommarus. In 1573, Enkhuizen opted for the Reformation and the church was reformed. Today it is an important cultural and social centre and there are regular concerts, receptions, weddings, funerals, meetings, exhibitions, symposia and markets. The church is open to visitors in the afternoon during the summer months. In 2024, the opening period is from 2 July to 2 September, daily from 13:30 to 17:00. Exception: the days on which there is an organ concert. Admission is free, a voluntary contribution is appreciated.