Restoration of the East Church

Monumentenbezit works on the maintenance and restoration of the Oostkerk in the fall. The Oostkerk, built between 1647 and 1667, is known for its octagonal shape and impressive dome. It is a top 100 monument in the Netherlands. That makes restoration here special every time.

With every monument you have to look carefully at how you deal with restoration and maintenance. You want to preserve all historical details as well as possible for the future. Robin Koot, project leader, tells us more about our work on the Oostkerk. “This year we will start restoring a number of unique elements. We have already started painting the bell tower. That already looked impressive with such a large crane next to it. But we are going to do many more special things…”

Clock Tower

“In September we had the painting done on the Oostkerk. We gave this church bell tower a makeover. Now it can last for a while again!”

When the East Church was built, the plan was to place a large bell tower on top of the dome. But instead of a large tower on the dome, a smaller tower was chosen that was placed behind the church where the carillon would hang. The dome itself, in which the bells are located, was built by shipwrights who also built the ships, because a curve for the shape of a ship was made in the same way.

Obelisks

But the Oostkerk consists of more special historical elements. The obelisks at the Oostkerk are characteristic elements. They reflect the religious aspirations of the community and their connection with the divine. The obelisks are made of Belgian bluestone and are decorated with symbols.

“Anyone who walks past every day will have noticed that the obelisks are gone. We picked them up last week for restoration. They were taken to Slotboom Steenhouwers in Winterswijk. Here, the missing parts will be filled in and various cracks will be repaired. The obelisks will be put back in place in November.”

Entrance

The appearance of the Oostkerk will be further improved. The entrance staircase will also be repaired. “The staircase will be cleaned, the missing parts will be filled in and repointed. After November 2024, we will have completed all the work and the entrance of the Oostkerk will be ready for use for a while.”