The nice thing about a historical town is that there are small alleys to find and hidden inner yards to discover if you look well. In Delft we found this gate with a medallion portrait picturing the clergyman and poet P.A. de Génestet, who worked in the Remonstrant church that was named after him and that we found behind the gate.
The Génestet church is a neo-renaissance building from 1896, designed by L. Couvée and built on the site of a so-called 'secret church' from 1639. A secret -or clandestine- church ("
schuilkerk" in Dutch) was a house of worship used by religious minorities, and was tolerated on condition that it was discreet and not conducted in public spaces. Clandestine churches were commonly built inside houses or other buildings, and do not show a public facade to the street.
Interessant verhaal. "De Genestet" herinner ik me nog van de Nederlandse les op de Middelbare school, die naam is me altijd bijgebleven! Leuk om een portret van hem te zien boven de poort.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenMooie vondst en weer wat geleerd.
BeantwoordenVerwijderen...this reminds me of how the Amish had to worship years ago,
BeantwoordenVerwijderenHow interesting, these clandestine churches. Is there an "official" church in your country? And what groups made up these clandestine churches?
BeantwoordenVerwijderenHi Lowell, I read that the majority of the Dutch people in the 17th century were Reformed/Calvinistical, and the clandestine churches were for the other faiths such as Roman Catholics, Remonstrants, and Lutherans.
VerwijderenNowadays there are many churches here: Roman Catholic, Reformed, Mennonites, Baptist, Pentecostal, and more.
Thanks for your questions!
Secret churches are a new one to me.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenvery interesting
BeantwoordenVerwijderenVery interesting
BeantwoordenVerwijderenOld towns are like a big adventure, always finding something new.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenInteresting post and I enjoyed the information you gave Lowell as well. We have Dutch Reformed Churches here in South Africa. I very strong and big church in this country with so many Afrikaners.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenVery interesting about the secret churches. I like walking down alleys, could be something interesting to photograph. A very nice find Marleen
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI love coming across an archway & alleyway to explore!
BeantwoordenVerwijderenVery lovely architectural details here!
It is pretty! I like all that old brick.
BeantwoordenVerwijdereneen clandestiene kerk...Marleen
BeantwoordenVerwijderenzelf had ik van die man nog niet gehoord
hier steek ik dus wat van op
groeten
How fascinating! I bet even now there are secret churches or maybe these days they're called 'cults'. Old cities like this are amazing to explore, especially when, like me, you come from a country with a relatively new history.
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