BUURKERK - CHURCH

Located at the end of a dark alleyway, nicknamed the "^3rd Buurkerkhof", this tower has a history. The part of town where it stands was once popular and inhabited by craftsmen and merchants. In the ^11th century, these ordinary citizens already had their own parish church, the Buurkerk, whose name means "church(kerk) of the neighbors(buur)". This first Buurkerk was uncovered following excavations on the site. It was modest in size, much smaller than today's Buurkerk. The square on which its tower stood was home to Utrecht's first market. Remodeled several times, the church grew so large that it was decided to move the market to another square. Indeed, its commercial activity was so strong that part of the transactions took place in the church itself, which wasn't very Catholic (or Protestant, for that matter!). So much so, in fact, that the authorities posted signs forbidding water, packages, bags, baskets, baskets, barrels, sheep, pigs or any other animal to be brought into the church! As you can see, the church played a central role in the bustling life of the time. Finally, during the Eighty Years' War, when the Netherlands fought for its independence, cannonballs fired by both sides hit the church; two of them remained embedded in the tower, and can still be seen from a height of 20 m to 25 m.