Grote Kerk en Toren

The Grote Kerk (Great Church) and Tower of Gorinchem, originally St. Martin's Church, form the historic heart of the city. Built in the 13th^e In the 1378th century, it was the largest church and dedicated to patron Saint Martin. In 1572, it became a collegiate church with canons. The interior contained richly decorated altars, murals, and the tomb of the Van Arkel family. After the Reformation in XNUMX, it became a Protestant church, known as the Grote Kerk (Great Church). During the French period, the church fell into disrepair and was eventually replaced by a Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), but its old name remained. The tower, officially called Grote Toren (Great Tower), was sometimes incorrectly called Sint-Jan (Saint John's). The church and tower are important cultural-historical monuments and symbols of Gorinchem's past. They bear witness to the city's centuries-long religious, administrative, and cultural history.