Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

Dutch Reformed Church. Three-aisled PSEUDOBASILIC (16th century) with five-sided closed choir and narrow ambulatory. The three naves and the ambulatory under a high roof. Major renovations in 1774, when, among other things, the tower was demolished and replaced by a new west facade, above which an open dome tower. The church was restored in 1842-1843. Slender columns inside; a wooden barrel vault with tie beams over the tall central nave and half barrel vaults over the side aisles and ambulatory. Good inventory: pulpit in Lod. XVI-like forms (1842); baptismal fence (17th century B) with precentor's lectern (18th century A); beautifully carved lord's pew (1652); three copper crowns (18th century?); grave board (1679); several tombstones (17th-18th century). Bell tower with clock by H. Meurs, 1605, diam. 67.3 cm.

Protestant (Reformed) Church. Simple hall church from 1810 with pointed arch windows and roof turret (tower). In 2009/2010, together with the adjacent Aleida Leurinkhuis, extensively renovated (and refurnished) into a modern Church Center. Single-manual organ, built in 1725 by Diedrich Martens from Vreden. Last restoration in 1991 (by Blank). Mechanical wrought-iron tower clock. A natural stone round dial.

Important reconstruction church with tower. With parts of the former church , badly damaged in 1945. Out of use as a Roman Catholic Church in 2015. The interior was converted into a theatre in 2015-2016. The Theatre Church opened its doors on 28 October 2016.

This church is listed as a National Monument of the Netherlands.

The current Reformed Church of Hoogkarspel had two, probably three predecessors. The first church must have been a small tuff chapel that was later replaced by a late Gothic church dedicated to Laurentius. This church is at least mentioned in a deed from 1514. An engraving by H. Spilman after Cornelis Pronk from 1726 shows a church with a large tower. The building is briefly described in Van der Aa: '... an old building, that still stands well on its foundations and is provided with a tower with a stone spire. In the past, there was a house organ, which was donated to this church by Mr. P. van den Willigen, Councillor in the Vroedschap and Mayor of the city of Enkhuizen, but this was replaced in 1802 by a completely new one, which was paid for from the church fund. There is also a very neat and efficient public cemetery laid out in 1829, and a parsonage built in 1839, which is the most beautiful house between Hoorn and Enkhuizen. In 1859 the church was in such a bad state that "the Chief Engineer of the Water Board" was asked for advice on restoration or new construction. The latter was decided upon. The design for the new church came from D. and L. van der Tas, architects in Schiedam and Sloten. The foundation stone for the second church building was laid on 19 October 1860, and on 4 May 1862 the church was put into use. The very beautiful neo-Gothic church had, judging from old postcards, a matching interior. The building was a polygonal central structure of brick and stucco. Unfortunately, little of the old interior was saved and/or brought to the current church. The new church showed serious structural problems in 1909 due to subsidence due to an inadequate foundation. A major restoration prevented collapse, but only led to a postponement of the need for demolition and new construction. The new church was built in 1966, based on a design by the architects CH Bekink and J. Bijleveld. The church has a freestanding tower. It was built because the old church had become too large. On the north side of the current church, a number of gravestones from the first church can still be found in the pavement. It is not known whether they were removed from the old church and given a new resting place here or whether they were never moved from their place but suddenly ended up outside the church walls when the second and especially the third church became smaller.

The hall church from 1906 has a wooden facade tower with a constricted spire on the north side An extension was built on the south side. The organ from 1869 was made by Adema and is a national monument because it has been preserved in its original state. This church is listed as a National Monument of the Netherlands.

Reformed church, built in 1858 in the water board style. The facade tower placed above the front building was added in 1879. Next to it is the catechism room GAN-OV13B-59.

The Reformed Church consists of a simple 16th century nave, rebuilt in 1611. The choir has been demolished. Interior: niches under the windows. Oak pulpit (17th century). The steeply sloping 14th century tower has three sections. On either side of the pointed arch above the entrance are niches with brick trefoils, which also appear on a frieze of the round staircase tower, the masonry of which is enlivened with glazed heads. The buttresses were probably added in the 16th century, the bell storey was raised and the entrance was changed. The stone vault in the tower has been broken out; its wall columns are provided with small capitals. Bell tower with clock by Johannes Burgerhuys, 1613, diam. 70 cm. Lower in the tower, in a clock case, is a mechanical tower clock, according to the nameplate: B. Eijsbouts, 1922, decommissioned.

Single-nave church with a tower of three sections. The original 13th century tower, the 15th century nave and an organ by WH Kam from 1859 were destroyed in 1944. The 15th century choir was preserved and renovated in 1949 to a design by FJA den Tex and J. Hillebrants, and extended with a new narrower nave. In 1953 provided with a new tower of three sections. In 1986 the liturgical arrangement was changed. During an extension in 1999 the nave was provided with modern bay windows.

A single-aisled building with a five-sided closure, built in 1753, to which a northern extension, also closed on five sides, was added at the end of the 19th century. Memorial stone in the south-east facade 1753. Pulpit 17th century. Copper baptismal cymbal arm with cymbal 17th century; copper precentor's lectern 18th century. Psalm board 1769. Two-manual organ, made in 1874 by L. van Dam and Sons. This church is one of the 4 churches of the Protestant Community of Thomas, a regional community with that apostle name, consisting of Twisk, Hauwert, Midwoud and Oostwoud. The church itself is not called Thomaskerk.This church is listed as a National Monument of the Netherlands