Gebruiker:Daanengels897/Kladblok
The Westertoren is part of the Westerkerk which is located in Amsterdam. The Tower, also know as 'Lange Jan' or 'De Oude Wester', can be seen from a great distance. The Westertoren is a symbol for the people of the Jordaan district, like it is in the centre of the Jordaan. But in matter of fact the Westertoren does not stand in the Jordaan, but just next to it.
Architecture[bewerken | brontekst bewerken]
The 85-meter long tower is the tower of the Westerkerk, near the Westermarkt. The Westerkerk is a church next to a (small) graveyard, which is build in 1631. The tower it self was finished in 1637. The Westertoren was designed by Jacob van Campen, a Dutch architect and artist from the Dutch Golden Age (Harlem, 2 February 1596 – Amersfoort, 13 September 1657).
The bottom of the tower up to and including the balcony is made of bricks. Above that the mainconstruction of the tower is made of wood, coated with natural stone. The top of the tower is coated with painted lead. In the tower are 47 bells.
History[bewerken | brontekst bewerken]
Rembrandt van Rijn was buried in the Westerkerk on October 8, 1669. His lover Hendrickje Stoffels is also burried here even as his son Titus van Rijn. Rembrandt isn't the only painter who is burried in the Westerkerk, other painters who are burried there are Nicolaes Berchem, Gillis d'Hondecoeter, Melchior d'Hondecoeter and Govert Flinck.
Anne Frank has mentioned the Westertower frequently in her diary. She could see it from the Achterhuis and she described the chiming of the clock as a comfortable sound. Nowadays there is a statue of Anne Frank just outside the church.
On March 10, 1966, Queen Beatrix (then Princess Beatrix) married Prince Claus in the Westerkerk.