Bartholomeüskerk Stedum
The Bartholomeüskerk is a Romano-Gothic church from the 13th century. The church is sometimes considered the pinnacle of Romano-Gothic architecture in Groningen.
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The present church dedicated to the Apostle Bartholomew had predecessors in the early Middle Ages in the form of one or more wooden...
The present church consecrated to the Apostle Bartholomew had predecessors in the early Middle Ages in the form of one or more thatched wooden churches and a tufa church whose remains have been found in and around the church. On the north side of the church in the grass is a stepping stone path of sarcophagus remains, grave slabs and red sandstone, 12th-century dated. This shows that Stedum had a rich parish life very early on. The church is in the centre of the village and is located on one of the two mounds on which the village of Stedum was built. It is a brick cross church with a gabled roof tower, built around 1250-1275. The lower part of the tower slightly earlier. Tuff can still be seen in the base of the tower. After the construction of the church, the tower, which was first detached from the church, was raised and fitted with an inner tower with klokkenstoel. In the tower hangs a Maria bell from 1300. This makes it the oldest dated bell in the province of Groningen. The architectural style is characterised as late Romanesque (also called Roman Gothic in the past). The Bartholomew's Church is considered one of the highlights of this style. At the end of the 15th century, the choir of the church was enlarged with a Gothic five-sided extension. The sacristy, later consistory, is an early sixteenth-century late Gothic extension. Inside the church are late 15th-century vault paintings. On the choir is a marble tomb from the workshop of Rombout Verhulst, made in memory of Adriaan Clant, lord of the then borg Nittersum in Stedum. On behalf of Groningen City and Ommelanden, he was a co-signatory of the Peace of Münster in 1648. This marked the end of the Eighty Years' War. The interior has rich carvings from the second half of the seventeenth century: pews, pulpit and gentlemen's bench. The organ was built in 1680 and the new floor dates from 1668. This was all commissioned by Adriaan Clant's son Johan. The present organ is from 1791, made by Dirck Lohman and Zn. of Emden and still has some older pipework from the 1680 organ.
The church can be visited, possibly with a guided tour. Key addresses can be found at the door and are a short distance from the church. From April to October, the church is open on Saturday afternoons from 13.00 - 16.00.