Protestant Modestby Jan Zimmermann | 20.12.2013

Moravian Church Amsterdam ZO

...one modest church for everything.

The community of the Moravian Church in Amsterdam had to wait a long time (since 2006) for their new church.  In 2013, it had finally been completed and now offers more than just a room for ritual and prayer.

All-Rounder

The modern church building with a yellow and white brick façade is a real all-rounder. On entering the church through an extensively glazed entrance on the south-east side, one finds oneself in the lobby. Straight ahead, there is a kitchen. To the left, one enters a large meeting hall with tables and seating accommodations. To the right, there is the actual church, that is the main hall for service, which occupies only approximately one half of the two-storied building. A volume with a trapezoidal floor area and a glazed façade at the north-east end extends the room to the south-east. A corridor, running along the main hall, accesses toilets, storage rooms and a consistory.

A flight of stairs leads from the lobby to the upper floor. Here, straight ahead lie a smaller meeting room and an office. To the left, there are four larger meeting rooms. On the opposite side, there is a matroneum of the church hall with five landings. Standing in front of the matroneum, there is a storage room to the right and an archive and further toilets to the left.

Heavenward

Architecturally most interesting is the main hall. Here, the roof or ceiling inclines towards the altar or stage. Since the level of the first floor, except for the matroneum, is missing here, a very high and voluminous room is created by the inclination. There are skylights on both ends of the ceiling, being almost as wide as the roof itself. The part of the roof over the altar is raised to some extent. The skylight is situated vertically in this volume. Therefore, the incident sunlight reaches the preacher only indirectly, just like the preacher, as a mediator, announces the word of God only indirectly. The south-east end of this volume is closed towards the interior. And justifiably so, since the church bell is found inside. The brightest rooms should be the meeting rooms on the south-west side with an almost entirely glazed façade.

What matters is the Inside

The long list of different premises clearly indicates that the new Moravian Church in Amsterdam is not only made for service on Sundays and holidays. Presumably, a great deal of other community or missionary works, conferences and other events should take place here. The church presents itself modern in its outer appearance, but not in a chic kind of modern, but sober, simple and, despite its size, unobtrusive. The bricks of the outer façade also appear modest and reserved only by their colour. But, in fact, the outer appearance does not really seem to matter here. The true treasure lies within.