interessant.in / Utrecht / Architecture / Historical St James

This building does not just provide a meeting place on Sundays for a living and dynamic religious community (Protestant Church of the Netherlands), it is worth a visit for other reasons as well: it is a beautiful building with a long history. The Reformation and the following removal of statues and paintings from religious institutions are the explanation for the white interior. When the sun shines through the tall windows (not guaranteed in the Netherlands), you will experience a fantastic sense of space.

And space is the very thing lacking in 'the vault', where hermit Alyt Ponciaens had herself locked in in the 15th century. A statue near the main entrance reminds us of her.

The gravestones in the church offer the names of old and rich Utrecht families. It takes quite an effort to decipher them.

Open to visitors

St James's church, together with other historical churches in the center of the city, is regularly open to tourists, provided there is no religious service or event scheduled; At this time of the year, guided tours, provided by volunteers from "Kerken Kijken" (visit their website at www.kerkenkijken.nl for an PDF in the English language containing descriptions of historical inner city churches, among them St James's),  are available on Saturdays between 11:00 and 16:30.  During summer months, the church is open to visitors every day.

Pilgrims

St James's is located on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostella. In this day and age there are still people who want to contemplate or de-haste and walk (or cycle) this route to North-Western Spain..