By around 1213, a wooden chapel had been erected at the location of today's Oude Kerk. Over time, this structure was replaced by a stone church that was consecrated in 1306. The church has seen a number of renovations performed by 15 generations of Amsterdam citizens. The church stood for only a half-century before the first alterations were made; the aisles were lengthened and wrapped around the choir in a half circle to support the structure. Not long after the turn of the 15th century, north and south
transepts were added to the church creating a cross formation. Work on these renovations was completed in 1460, though it is likely that progress was largely interrupted by the great fires that besieged the city in 1421 and 1452. Before the
Alteratie, or
Reformation in Amsterdam of 1578, the Oude Kerk was
Roman Catholic. Following
William the Silent's defeat of the Spanish in the
Dutch Revolt, the church was taken over by the
Calvinist Dutch Reformed Church. Throughout the 16th-century battles, the church was looted and defaced on numerous occasions, first in the
Beeldenstorm of 1566, when a mob destroyed most of the church art and fittings, including an altarpiece with a central panel by
Jan van Scorel and side panels painted on both sides by
Maarten van Heemskerck. Only the paintings on the ceiling, which were unreachable, were spared. The church also functioned as a public gathering space for churchgoers to socialize, vendors to sell their goods, and the poor to seek shelter. This was not tolerated by the Calvinists, however, and the homeless were expelled. In 1681, the choir was closed off with an oak screen. Above the screen is the text, ''The prolonged misuse of God's church, were here undone again in the year seventy-eight,'' referring to the Reformation of 1578. In that same year, the Oude Kerk became home to the registry of marriages. It was also used as the city archives; the most important documents were locked in a chest covered with iron plates and painted with the city's coat of arms. The chest was kept safe in the iron chapel.
Rembrandt was a frequent visitor to the Oude Kerk and his children were all christened here. The Oude Kerk is one of the historic buildings in Amsterdam associated with Rembrandt. In the Holy Sepulchre is a small Rembrandt exhibition, a shrine to his wife
Saskia van Uylenburgh who was buried here in 1642. Each year on 9 March (8 March in leap years), at 8:39 am, the early morning sun briefly illuminates her tomb. An early spring breakfast event is held annually. ==Structure==