Continues until 3rd December.
A handwritten parchment from 1267 first announced the ‘parish of Rijswijk’. It is the oldest proof that there was already a church and a church community.
The Rijswijkse faith communities of the parish of H. Bonifatius, the Protestant Church, the Full Gospel Church and the Dutch Reformed Church, therefore, celebrate this year’s ‘750-year-old church in Rijswijk’. In collaboration with the Museum Rijswijk an exhibition has been organized that shows what happened in these 750 years.
The Rijswijkse faith community initially knew a period of bloom, witnessing the great Old Church on the Herenstraat. But she also had to deal with a painful divorce. In the 16th century, the Protestant and Roman Catholic Church each went their own way, the latter almost underground in a shelter church. But the Protestant church also got divorces, which contributed to the shady religious field today.
The 750-year-old church in Rijswijk is a history of falling and rising, building and breaking churches, and seeking a unique and recognizable place in an ever changing society.
Archives, books, maps, liturgical objects, prints and paintings describe an image of the Rijswijkse religious community since 1267. Many unique and seldom previously exhibited pieces can be seen at this special exhibition.
