History
The bishop of Utrecht gave the city of Amsterdam permission to use a second the parish church in 1408 because the Oude Kerk ("Old Church") had grown too small for the growing population of the city. The Nieuwe Kerk was consecrated to St. Mary and St. Catharine.
The church was damaged by the city fires of 1421 and 1452 and burned down almost entirely in 1645, after which it was rebuilt in Gothic style. It underwent major renovation in 1892–1914, which added many neo-Gothic details, and was again renovated in 1959–1980. It was the renovation in the 70's that became too expensive for the Dutch Reformed Church, and when they said the church would be closed most of the time to save money on maintenance, it was decided to transfer ownership in 1979 to a newly formed cultural organization called the Nationale Stichting De Nieuwe Kerk.
Read more about this topic: Nieuwe Kerk (Amsterdam)
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