Imagine my surprise when I came across such an unexpected and lovely building, right next to the entrance of the city park Het Park in Rotterdam. It is a church!
A Norwegian Seamen’s Church to be exact.
This is the Norsk Sjømannskirke. Its initial role was to receive, help and provide shelter for Norwegian seamen, which started in Amsterdam in 1875. The previous building had to be abandoned; thus, a new church had to be erected.
So a timber church was brought to Rotterdam in parts and assembled on-site by Norwegian carpenters, completed in 1914. In 1937, the church had to be moved about 200 meters away, to make way for the Maas Tunnel construction. It was dismantled and carried in three pieces to this new site. This Norwegian Seamen’s Church is a copy of a 16th-century Norwegian village church.
The church has been a national monument since 1999.
Norsk Sjømannskirke
📍Westzeedijk 300, 3016 AP Rotterdam