History and building
History
Construction history
The Janskerk was built in the mid-11th century as a collegiate church. The client was Bishop Bernold, who was also the founder of the Pieterskerk in Utrecht. It is therefore not surprising that the two churches originally looked very similar. Like the Pieterskerk, the Janskerk was a Romanesque column basilica, built from tuff and provided with chapels, two towers and the round-arched windows characteristic of Romanesque architecture. In both churches, the nave was provided with large pink-red columns, each made from a single piece of sandstone, and in both churches there was a crypt.
Unlike the Pieterskerk, which is still accessible, the Janskerk was closed at the end of the 13th century. Another important change was the conversion of the columns into pillars. The columns were not strong enough to carry the weight of the church and were therefore reinforced. One of the pillars has now been partially opened up, so that the original pink column is visible again. A column has also been erected in its entirety in the left aisle. Unlike the nave and the aisles, where the masonry is still largely 11th century, the choir and the chapels have undergone a major change since they were built. They were rebuilt in the Gothic style in the period 1508-1539. This created a contrast in style between the choir with chapels and the rest of the church. The choir was not only 'Gothicised', but also enlarged.
The outline of the old Romanesque choir is indicated with orange tiles in the current Gothic choir.
The renovation of the northern chapel was paid for by dean Thomas van Nijkerken, which is why the chapel is also called the Dean's Chapel or Nijkerken Chapel. Both this chapel and the choir were given net and star vaults that were painted. In the northern chapel they were provided with angels and the coats of arms of canons.
The west facade and the towers
The west facade of the Janskerk was provided with two towers with an apse in between during the construction of the church. One of the towers collapsed or was demolished (probably in the 14th century). The other tower remained standing, but had to be reinforced. Unfortunately, the problems were not solved for good: in the 1630s, the large bell had to be removed from the tower because the tower shook too much when it rang.
Although the tower was in poor condition, it miraculously suffered little inconvenience from the large
storm that raged over the Netherlands on 1 August 1674 and destroyed many buildings, including the Dom Church, Pieterskerk and Jacobikerk. Nevertheless, the chapter decided in 1681 to demolish the tower, as well as the cloister, the cloister and outbuildings. The proceeds from the sold bricks and a number of bells (almost 15,000 guilders) were used to build a new west facade, to adapt the north facade and to place a bell tower with a dome on the church. Gijsbert Th. van Vianen designed the baroque brick west facade, which is decorated with a Tuscan gate of natural stone around the entrance. Above the large window of the facade a stone has been placed with the text 'anno 1682'. The design of the original west building with two towers has now been made 'visible' in the paving with a different colour of stone. This shows that the Janskerk was originally several metres longer.
The Reformation
In the course of the 16th century, discontent about various practices within the Catholic faith increased. Well-known theologians such as John Calvin and Martin Luther wanted to reform Catholicism, but they and their followers were thwarted. Eventually, a rift occurred between the Catholics and the followers of the new faith, the Reformed. In 1566 and 1580, the discontent in the Netherlands led to the so-called Beeldenstorm, the large-scale storming of churches and other religious buildings in which the statues and other works of art were destroyed.
On 7 March 1580, a crowd invaded the Janskerk and destroyed the organ, statues, paintings and books, among other things. In the same year, the city council of Utrecht decided to officially ban the practice of Catholicism. Churches and monasteries were closed or given to the Reformed Church. Since not all buildings were used, English troops and the Walloon Reformed Church were given permission to use the Janskerk for their services. A year earlier, in 1584, the choir of the church had already been converted into a city library. At an unknown time, the choir was separated from the rest by a wall. The pulpit stood in front of this wall, which was decorated with Renaissance motifs.
To make the building even more suitable for reformed services, half of the pillars of the nave were demolished in 1657, creating more space and clarity.
The St. Anthony Chapel and the main guardhouse
In the 15th century, an extra chapel was built on the north side of the church, called St. Anthonius Chapel. This chapel was later also called Renesse Chapel, after Jan van Renesse who had the chapel designated as a burial chapel for his family. The main guard was built against this chapel. The guard, who was responsible for the safety of members of the Provincial States who met at Janskerkhof 3, stayed in this building.
During an extension of the main guardhouse, the space of the St. Anthony chapel was added. Thus the chapel disappeared. The current building of the guardhouse dates from 1682-1683. The year 1660 mentioned on the coat of arms stone refers to the predecessor of the current building.
Other extensions include 17th and 18th century houses on the south side of the church and a 1641 house behind the choir for the librarian.
Restorations in the 20th century
The poor condition of the Janskerk was already being discussed at the beginning of the 20th century.
some work took place, such as renewing the slates on the roof, but it was not until the 1940s that
concrete plans for a restoration were made. This was badly needed, because the condition of the church was deteriorating. For example, stone and lime regularly fell down in the choir. A restoration took place from 1947 to 1952, but was limited to the choir due to lack of funds.
In 1976, a large-scale restoration followed. In 1968, the government had approved the restoration plans for five Dutch Reformed churches in Utrecht (Janskerk, Domkerk, Jacobikerk, Nicolaaskerk and Buurkerk) and made money available. The major restoration of the Janskerk took place in the years 1976-1981. Under the leadership of architect ir. T. van Hoogevest, both the interior and exterior were thoroughly tackled. Among other things, parts of their plaster layer were stripped, windows and doors that had once been closed were reopened, the pillars that had been removed from the nave in 1657 were reconstructed and the bell tower from 1682 that disappeared in the 19th century was rebuilt.
An important discovery was that of parts of the 13th century wooden barrel vault of the nave and transept. After a major fire in 1279, this vault was made and painted. The centuries-old vault was hidden behind a 19th century stucco vault that was made on reed, which in turn was attached to the 13th century planks. After the 19th century vault was removed, the old planks were restored. The rest of the vault was reconstructed with new planks, which are painted in the same way as the original planks. The original planks can be recognized by their darker color.
An important modern addition to the building is the entrance portal with gallery.
At a glance: the use of the church in the past and present
From its construction in the 11th century until 1580, the Janskerk served as a Catholic chapter church for centuries. After the city council banned Catholicism, the church was used as a reformed church and was given other functions. For example, a library was established in the choir in 1584 and the church was briefly used as a barracks in 1813, during the last year of the French occupation.
In 1900 the church's continued existence was threatened when the church council considered selling the building for 125,000 guilders to build a new town hall. Shortly before the Second World War
During the Second World War, voices were again raised in favor of demolition, but this did not happen then either.
Since 1947, a student pastor has been in the Janskerk. This led to the creation of the Evangelical University Community (EUG), now called the EUG Oekumenische Studentengemeente. In addition to the weekly service on Sunday, the Janskerk is rented out for all kinds of different events, such as concerts, conferences and weddings.
Interior
From burial vault to gold leather wallpaper
Besides the choir and the chapels, which were briefly discussed above, the light and modest interior of the Janskerk is mainly dominated by the various tombstones and grave monuments.
There is the tomb of provost Dirk van Wassenaer (†1465), with his image and a lion at his feet. Above the tomb hangs the family crest and an epitaph commemorating Van Wassenaer. Part of the family crest is a black hat with six tassels, a sign that many provosts and canons used to refer to their position.
The painted burial vault of Canon Adrianus van Bevelandt, who died in 1563, can also be viewed via a small staircase. The somewhat damaged painting shows a crucifixion scene with a kneeling Van Bevelandt.
In 1948, a 16th-century burial vault containing a nearly decayed 15th-century wooden chest was found in the choir. It turned out to be the grave of Thomas van Basin, Bishop of Lisieux (1412-1491). The chest contained remains of the skeleton with an oak staff, a copper plate with inscriptions and a chalice. In addition to the dating of the chest and burial vault, the fact that the skeleton was not neatly laid and the vault was not plastered and painted also confirms that the bishop was once buried elsewhere in the church. The bishop's grave was moved in the 16th century, after the choir was renovated, to the place where it was found in 1948. In 1952, the remains were reburied under the choir.
The Janskerk also contains the large grave monument for Balthasar Fredericus von Stosch (†1743) and various epitaphs from the 15th and 16th centuries. A few metres from Von Stosch's grave monument, a door leads the visitor to the church council room, which features beautiful 18th-century gold leather wallpaper, a large mantelpiece and a stucco ceiling.
The choir is adorned by the organ (1861), the painted vault and the 15th-century choir stalls. At first glance, there seems to be nothing strange about the door at the back right of the choir, but if you come closer, you will see the perspective joke that has been played: the natural stone frame is much wider on the left than on the right, which makes the door appear crooked.
Special decorations
Mural in the burial chamber
The painting shows the crucified Christ. On his right side stands his grieving mother, Mary, who has turned her head away. The apostle John carefully holds her upright, but continues to look at the already dead Christ. On the other side of the cross stands the ascetic prophet John the Baptist. He recommends the deceased canon Adriaan van Beveland.
The canon is depicted on a smaller scale as a young cleric reciting the text of Psalm 41: Quemadmodum desiderat cervus ad fontes aquarum. Ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus. Or: As the deer thirsts for the springs of water, so my soul thirsts for you, God.
In the background the contours of the city are visible, above which the darkened sun can just be distinguished. The text next to the cross says that this is the grave of Adrianus a Bechlandt (typo!), canon of this church and died in 1563.
Font
The baptismal font was designed by the Utrecht artist Willem Noyons and made for the student community in the Janskerk around 1990. It is a relatively shallow, somewhat undulating basin of limestone on a tripod of the same material. The design is in line with the symbolism of the living water. At a baptism this often causes some water damage, as evidenced by the story of the sexton on page 110 of the book 'Living Monuments' that was presented by the Protestant Community of Utrecht in the Janskerk at the beginning of 2009. Noyons designed more for the Janskerk, including the 'transparent' altar, the lectern and the slender candlesticks.
Organ
The White Organ
The Janskerk has had various organs over the centuries. During the Beeldenstorm in 1580, the organ at that time was destroyed. It was replaced by the organ of the Minderbroederkerk, which was eventually sold in 1657 for 250 guilders.
After several periods in which there had been no organ, the current organ was finally built in 1861. Money was raised to have an organ built based on a design by the famous organ builder CGF Witte. The 6,000 guilders that were raised were not enough to fully implement the design, but Witte still managed to make a beautiful organ with a neo-Gothic case. Since the organ was consecrated, it has remained largely unchanged. It did change location more than a century later: from the transept to the choir, where it still hangs today.
Clocks
When in the 17th century the tower front of the Janskerk had become dilapidated and had suffered damage from the storm disaster of 1674, it was demolished and the bells were sold. As compensation, a dome tower was built on the high Gothic choir, in which a bell was hung. This tower in combination with the wooden roof of the choir did not turn out to be such a good combination; subsidence occurred and the dome was removed fairly quickly.
During the major church restoration of 1976-1981, after constructive reinforcement of the roof structure, a dome tower with a clock was placed again. This was made in 1977 by the Royal Eijsbouts and measures 82.3 cm (340 kg). Text: Blessed is my lot / to strike the hour for God (the text, not on the edge but at the bottom of the so-called fausure, is by Ad den Besten, but his name is not on the clock).
In the church is the Van Eyck bell with the text: SOUL THE FLUTE HEARTBEAT THE TOWER GAVE HERE VAN EIJCK THAT I LET HEAR. This ornamental bell was made by Eijsbouts in 1982 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the "Stichting Jhr. Jacob van Eijck" located in the Janskerk.
In the past, the Janskerk was known as the Langslaperskerk because the morning services started at 10:30 instead of the then usual time of 10:00. The student community makes it late again; namely at 11:00 the service starts.
Chiming bells
Bibliography
- Delemarre, F., A. van Deijck, P. C. van Traa. Medieval churches in Utrecht.
- Graafhuis, A., KM Witteveen. In and around the Janskerk: at the opening of the restored
Janskerk, September 19, 1981. Utrecht, 1981.
- Kipp, AFE 'Municipal involvement in the repair of storm damage after the disaster of 1674'. In:
Message from the Friends of the Cathedral Foundation, vol. 19 (2007), no. 1, p. 1-16.
- Stenvert, R., C. Kolman, B. Olde Meierink, etc. Monuments in the Netherlands. Utrecht. Zwolle,
1996.
- Kralt, T., W. Klukhuhn, P. van der Ros (eds.). Living monuments. History,
maintenance and contemporary use of Utrecht inner city churches. Ootmarsum, 2008.
Text: Marieke Lenferink and Lisa Olrichs
Photography: Maarten Buruma, Henk Jansen, Nina Slagmolen