Roavina

Museum · Amsterdam

Oude Kerk

Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor

Photograph

A photograph of Oude Kerk
Photograph · Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0
Today
Open today, 10:00 – 18:00
Visit duration
1 hr 15 min
Accessibility
Partly step-free
Price
€14.50 per person
Standing
Must see · Heritage site
Rank
Rank 13 of 2,920
Plan a day around this Map

Place details and sources

This place is a Museum. It was established in 1408. It was built in the Holland gothic style. It is built of brick. It carries the Rijksmonument heritage designation.

Official website
oudekerk.nl Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Address
Oudekerksplein, 23, 1012GX, Amsterdam OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Wheelchair access
Available OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Admission fee
Payable OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Building
Church OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Heritage grade
Grade 2 OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Type of place
Museum OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Established
1408 Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Heritage designation
Rijksmonument Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Architectural style
Holland gothic Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Religion
Christian OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Denomination
Protestant OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Material
brick Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Wikipedia article
Oude Kerk, Amsterdam Wikipedia · Checked 2026-09-09

About Oude Kerk

The Oude Kerk is the oldest building in Amsterdam and, since 2012, a museum of contemporary art that happens to be a medieval parish church. It began as a wooden chapel raised around 1250 on a levee of clay laid down where the Amstel met the IJ, on ground that served as a burial place from the start. It kept growing until it reached its full hall-church form around 1570, the Lady Chapel having been added in 1552. Monday–Saturday 10:00–18:00; Sunday 13:00–17:30.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

What's inside

The first impression is scale and bare white plaster: high Gothic walls, columns, vaults and windows with almost nothing hung on them. The detail is above and below. Look up at the wooden vaults, where fragments of medieval painting survived the whitewash; look down at a floor made almost entirely of tombstones. Around 60,000 people were buried here between the thirteenth century and 1865, under more than 2,000 stones. Saskia van Uylenburgh, Rembrandt's first wife, lies near the small transept organ.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

How long to spend

The Oude Kerk answers this itself: following the highlights with the booklet and the free audio tour takes about 45 minutes. That is the figure to plan around if the church is all a visitor wants. The same page says the exhibition on top of that varies, because one commission may be a single installation read in five minutes and another a set of works spread through the aisles. Two practical constraints bound the visit. Most of the main church hall is wheelchair accessible, but the historic side rooms are not.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Season and crowds

The Oude Kerk opens Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00 and Sunday 13:00 to 17:30. It names its own quiet times: the church is generally quieter before 12:00, and Tuesday and Wednesday are usually the least busy days. Closures are few but absolute. On 24 December it closes early, at 17:00. Monday–Saturday 10:00–18:00; Sunday 13:00–17:30. Most of the main church hall is wheelchair accessible, but the historic side rooms are not. An accessible toilet is available. A companion or assistant accompanying a visitor with a disability receives free admission. Assistance and guide dogs are welcome and must remain on a lead.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Tickets

Tickets are sold online and at the entrance desk, and one ticket covers the art in the main church hall, the historic side chapels with their archival presentations, and the free audio tour in Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish or Italian. The Oude Kerk is entirely cashless. General adult admission is €14.50. This covers the exhibitions in the main church hall, the historic side chapels and the multilingual audio tour. The separate combined adult ticket for the church and guided tower visit is €22. Payments are cashless. Most of the main church hall is wheelchair accessible, but the historic side rooms are not.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Getting there

No car is needed and the Oude Kerk advises against one: it stands between Warmoesstraat and Oudezijds Voorburgwal in the oldest part of the centre, where the streets are narrow, largely pedestrian and awkward to drive. Bus 22 stops at Prins Hendrikkade by Centraal Station. The entrance is at Oudekerksplein 23, about an 8-minute walk from Amsterdam Centraal. Trams 2, 12, 13 and 17 stop at Nieuwezijds Kolk; trams 4, 14 and 24 stop at Dam; metro lines 51, 53 and 54 stop at Nieuwmarkt; bus 22 stops at Prins Hendrikkade/Central Station. The operator recommends public transport because car access to the neighbourhood is difficult.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

What to watch out for

Restoration is permanent here. The Oude Kerk says outright that craftsmen have worked on the building for centuries and that scaffolding will be somewhere in view; two north aisle windows returned in spring 2025 after years away, which briefly opened up the interior, but a scaffold-free photograph is luck rather than planning. Assistance dogs are welcome on a lead. Most of the main church hall is wheelchair accessible, but the historic side rooms are not. A companion or assistant accompanying a visitor with a disability receives free admission. Assistance and guide dogs are welcome and must remain on a lead.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Photography

Photography is permitted. The Oude Kerk asks only that no flash is used and that other visitors are respected, and neither the visitor information nor the FAQ mentions a separate photography permit or a charge. Flash would be useless here in any case: the interior is lit almost entirely through clear glass, and the whole character of the room is the way daylight falls on white plaster and grey stone. That makes the light the main variable. Assistance and guide dogs are welcome and must remain on a lead.

Checked 2026-08-31 · Source

Common questions

Where can official tickets be purchased?

Tickets are sold online through the Oude Kerk ticket portal and at the entrance desk.

Must visitors arrive at the exact time printed on an online ticket?

No. Visitors may arrive at any time during opening hours, provided the date on the ticket is correct.

How can visitors pay?

The Oude Kerk is cashless and accepts debit cards, credit cards and digital payment methods.

How long does a typical visit take?

Following the highlights with the booklet and audio tour takes about 45 minutes; viewing the current exhibition may require additional time.

Is photography permitted?

Yes. Photography is allowed without flash, and visitors are asked to be considerate of others.

Is an audio tour included?

Yes. Admission includes a free audio tour in Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

Where it is

Nearby

Within 2 min on foot
  • De Wallen 45 min
    2 min walk

    De Wallen

    • Must see
    • Historic monument
  • Warmoesstraat 45 min
    2 min walk

    Warmoesstraat

    • Notable
    • Historic monument
  • Museum of Our Lord in the Attic 30 min
    2 min walk

    Museum of Our Lord in the Attic

    • Must see · Heritage site
    • Place of worship

In Amsterdam

Same category

Fit it into a plan

External links

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Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·