Thamen Church

In a bend of the Amstel, on Amsteldijk-Noord, stands the Thamerkerk, built in neoclassical style. Although the current church dates from 1835, the history of the building goes back to the seventeenth century. The Thamerkerk owes its name to the village of Thamen.

The village of Thamen disappeared into the water during a severe storm. Water has traditionally been a major problem in Amstelland. With dams and dikes, the people of Amstelland managed to keep their feet relatively dry, but sometimes things went wrong and there was little choice but to pack up and seek a dry spot elsewhere. Peat extraction further enlarged the water of the Legmeer. The water surface stretched from Bovenkerk, south of Amstelveen, to what is now Uithoorn.

As a result of the water violence of the Amstel, Thamen disappeared into the waves, and the inhabitants had to seek safety on higher ground in a bend of the Amstel. Here, they built a small church in 1663, the original Thamerkerk. Around it, a lively neighborhood developed with a cozy atmosphere. Horses pulling boats trudged by, with the horse-drawn barges behind them, carts rattled over the dike, and on the water, skippers maneuvered their sailing barges. The population consisted mainly of peat cutters, fishermen, and farmers.

The church from 1663 was not a permanent solution, as the façade became significantly out of alignment. One more serious storm, and the church would not hold up, an expert predicted. The decision was made not to wait for that and to build a new church next to the old one. The grandchild of an insurance agent born in Uithoorn laid the first stone in 1834. The wealthy grandfather undoubtedly contributed significantly to the new construction. A year after the laying of the stone, the Thamerkerk could be solemnly taken into use. Beneath the cemetery next to the new Thamerkerk lie the ruins of its demolished predecessor. The church designed at the time by L. van Heusden still looks out over the Amstel.

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