Haarlem, St Bavo Church
Great St Bavo Church on the central Market Square.
From far outside the city of Haarlem one may already see the St. Bavo Church. The wooden tower, covered with lead, is 78 m high. This medieval Gothic cruciform church is one of the largest in the Netherlands. Unique in the interior are the beautiful wooden ceiling vault, the famous Müller organ, the brass choir screen, the many stained-glass windows and the 400 gravestones on the floor.
This St Bavo church, right in the center of Haarlem is a fabulous, humongous gothic church situated on Market Square. On the inside we find a wealth of elements that carry stories about Christian faith and other architectural parts speak of the engineering construction marvels that resulted in this edifice.
The art of building and the problems they encountered in the architectural planning can be seen outside. When the natural stone tower was built, one of the great columns started sagging. I will explain how this was remedied – showing images in the folder of documentation I will bring along.
Humongous Organ in the St Bavo church.
The huge organ was played by young Mozart. The ship model hanging from the arches forms a particular focus of prayer for safe return of sailors and fishermen.
Who was St Bavo ? The story is one of the more weird ones in Roman Catholic saints lore.
Tour by professional Art History scholar with excellent teaching skills. Specialist in Fine art and Design, Architecture and History. VIP entry.
Drs Kees Kaldenbach: „…he is wildly overqualified to be a guide . That is his secret… Trust me on this.” Gabe. Statement made February, 2017.
Haarlem is great for a City walk. The Frans Hals museum is world class. Larger images are available on this old school site.
Wooden roof of the St Bavo. Initially a fireproof stone roof was planned, causing weight problems.
Business card. The logo refers to Vermeer.
HOW TO GET THERE
Haarlem is easy to reach with public transport, half an hour by train. I hold a Dutch Railways rebate card. For this train tour I can offer you a special rebate of 40% for three separate adult railway tickets. This makes it economical for you as clients. I can join you from your hotel or from the Amsterdam train station.
Various other options are open to you: a) You can hire a car and drive it yourself, and I will join you starting in Amsterdam and will advise you about the best route. b) We can hire a professional taxibus service at around E 70 per hour for about 4 to 5 hours. On top of that you will pay me as the specialist guide. This is the more expensive option.
Group visit to the St Bavo.
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