Reformed Church

In the village of Tricht there is a church that is used by the Reformed congregation.

In the past, churches were not built all at once; They built until they ran out of money. Later, when there were finances again, the structure was finished or enlarged. It was the same with church towers. They weren't built all at once either. This can often still be seen, because they consist of several sections, which are not all equal or the same height. The height of the tower still shows where the most money could be spent; just compare the towers of Beesd and Zoelen. Then you know where they used to be the richest......

Tricht also has an old, but well-maintained church. Definitely worth a look! That is why I would like to take you on a brief tour of the building. At the same time, we discover something of its history.

The first Tricht place of worship was built in 1315. It was a small chapel that belonged to the parish of Buurmalsen. Tradition has it that the church of Buurmalsen was founded in 696 by Suitbertus, a follower of Willibrord.
In 1389 the chapel of Tricht was elevated to the status of a parish church. In 1989, for example, the 600th anniversary of this St. Peter's Church was commemorated.

It is quite normal to think that the nave of the church is the oldest part of the building. After all, people built a place of worship to pray, sing and listen together, and not to show off a high tower. It usually only came when there was enough money. It also happened in Tricht, but the ship was rebuilt and enlarged several times.

Recent study of the building material revealed that the construction history of the current building dates back to:
+/- 1400 the tower, built in two stages
+/- 1500 the ship was built for the 2nd or 3rd time
+/- 1520 choir and sacristy built (still in original form)

The upper section of the tower is slightly higher than the lower two. The tower originally had a four-sided pyramid as a spire. From 1910 to 1971 it was an eight-sided, strongly constricted spire.
During the (umpteenth) restoration in 1971, a spire was placed back in its original shape. In the tower hangs a bell with a diameter of 127 cm. In the ground floor of the tower you will see a cross vault. Notice the corbels on which the ribs rest: the heads are carved into them.

When we enter the church we see that the church has a three-aisled nave. The aisles are separated by pillars. The nave is divided into five bays, so that there are two times six (twelve) pillars. If you look closely, you can still see remnants of iron bars sticking out of the pillars. Perhaps the statues of the (twelve!) apostles used to stand on it.
The south aisle is a bit longer than the north aisle. As a result, there is a so-called baptistery at the back of the church. Against the back wall of this chapel you can see the recently restored remains of a mural, which was discovered during a restoration in the twenties.

Against the back wall of the north aisle hangs a recent painting of the church in Küsmöd, our sister congregation in Romania.
At the front of the church hangs a so-called Ten Commandments sign at the head of the north aisle, which dates from the 17th century. At that time, painting it cost four euros fifty-four......

The pulpit is also from the 17th century (1660) and was probably donated by the (De) Gruyter-Van Els family. They lived in the house of Crayesteyn and celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in 1659, during which they are said to have conceived the church.

Their weapons were placed (very modestly) on the front of the pulpit, but were removed during the French period. The base of this pulpit is fairly new and made by the late Mr. J.N. Broekman.
Before that time, the current 16th century baptismal font served as a base, and baptisms were made from the copper water basin that hangs to the side of the pulpit!

The candle crown at the front of the church states on the sphere:
"Cornelis van Rynberck, the first in the court and litmate of this church, was desired to have him commemorated after his death with money to be donated to this church for this quotation. Anno 1788"
The other crown is from the 17th century. Fortunately, these crowns have not yet been 'messed up' by electric lights. In fact, the candles are still used every year.

The Church has a communion cup from 1653 and one from 1747. The rest of the communion silver dates from 1882.

On either side of the nave you will see two so-called men's benches. The double originally belonged to 'Het Hof' and the other to 'Crayesteyn'. The baptismal gate, which used to be at the front of the church, can now be seen behind the pews at the entrance of the church. Above it is the organ, built more than a hundred years ago by Pieter Flaes.

During the restoration in the 1920s, a partition wall was installed between the nave and the choir of the church. In addition, the pulpit has been moved from the pillar to the middle.
The choir has a six-part cross vault. The long pointed arch windows are striking. If you go outside you can see that the roof of the choir and nave are the same height. The elite of the village used to be buried in the choir. For example, we know that between December 18, 1749 and December 2, 1805, 219 people were buried there. As can be seen from a pen drawing by the late T. de Groot, the floor of the choir used to be higher than it is now. In that raised choir floor there were two crypts. One belonged to the house Reigersfoort and the other to the house Crayesteyn. In the French era, burial in the church was forbidden.
The former sacristy is now a consistory room. There is a vault without ribs. The window (with shutters) was installed during the aforementioned restoration at the beginning of this century. It looks romantic, but doesn't fit in with the building. In this room hangs the list of all pastors associated with Tricht since the Reformation.

Of course, there is much more to see in the church. I hope that with this short description I have made you curious enough to continue your own search.

Outside, you should definitely take a look at the statue of St. Peter, the namesake of the church, which was made on site in June 1994 by the Romanian sculptor Joszef Szöke, as a thank you for what Tricht does for Romania.

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