Janskerk Utrecht
Janskerk

**In the heart of Utrecht, there is a church that has been a part of the city for almost a 1000 years already. **

In 1040 they started building the Janskerk (Jan’s church), the northern point of a church-cross, which is a formation of churches that form a cross on a map. The other three churches are Mariakerk, the Dom, the Pauluskerk and the Pieterskerk.

The first 500 years of the church, it was built in a Romanesque style, but in the 16th century, the choir loft got replaced for a Gothic version. In the year 1580, the catholic religion got banned in Utrecht, and during the iconoclasm, the statues in the church were removed. After this, the choir loft became a library, and in the 19th century, the church even served as a barrack for Russian and Prussian soldiers. Janskerk has been through a lot in a 1000 years, and in 1900 it was almost sold to raise money for a city hall, for 125.000 Guilder. Thankfully, this did not happen, and in 1976 Janskerk went through a big renovation.

Nowadays you can visit Janskerk in the heart of Utrecht, located on Jankskerkhof (Jan’s cemetery), a beautiful square surrounded by trees. The church hosts events, which you can check out on their website.