Southern Church

The Zuiderkerk is the first church designed for Protestant worship services in Amsterdam. The church was built near the Sint Antoniesbreestraat in the Lastage, a neighborhood that was added to the city in the late 16th century. Today, this is the Nieuwmarkt neighborhood. The church is located at Zandstraat no. 17.

The Zuiderkerk was in use for church services until 1929. During the Hunger Winter (1944-'45), from February to August 1945, deceased Amsterdammers were temporarily housed here while awaiting their burial.

In the 1960s, presentations with models about Amsterdam's future plans were regularly held there. The building was closed around 1970 due to its dilapidated state, and subsequently restored between 1976 and 1979. In 1979, a municipal information center was opened in the church. From 1992 until 2010, the church building served as an information center for the Spatial Planning Service of the municipality of Amsterdam. Due to budget cuts, the information center had to close on November 7, 2010.

On November 2, 2010, it was announced that starting January 2011, the National Historical Museum would rent the Zuiderkerk for five years, both as an exhibition space and as office space. The museum was dissolved by the government later in 2011 due to budget cuts. Since then, the church has been regularly rented out for meetings.

In honor of the 400th anniversary of the church tower, a church service was held in the Zuiderkerk on June 16, 2014, the first since 1929. The Vineyard Church of Amsterdam holds services in the Zuiderkerk.

Wandeloverzicht