Martini Church

The Martinikerk, or Martini Church, is the main medieval church of Franeker, a small and historic city in Friesland. Its tall brick tower is a landmark visible across the flat Frisian countryside, and the building is one of the more notable examples of late medieval church architecture in the province. Franeker is best known for two things: the University of Franeker, which operated from the sixteenth century to the early nineteenth century, and the Eise Eisinga Planetarium, and the church stands among the same streets.

The church was built in the Gothic style in brick, using the local clay that was the standard building material in Friesland. One of its distinctive features is the way the choir is arranged, with an ambulatory around it, an arrangement that is rarer in Frisian churches than in the Catholic churches of the south. After the Reformation the building was adapted for Protestant worship, and its interior is bright and simple, with the pulpit at the focus.

Martini churches are dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, the Roman soldier who became a bishop and is remembered for cutting his cloak in two to share it with a beggar. His cult was widespread in the Low Countries, and many towns have a church in his name. The Franeker church fits that tradition, and it gives a sense of the religious and civic life of the town in the Middle Ages.

A visit to the church fits naturally into a day in Franeker. The town hall, a handsome building from the sixteenth century, stands nearby, and the Koninklijk Eise Eisinga Planetarium, a working eighteenth-century model of the solar system built by a local wool carder in his living room, is the town's best-known attraction. Walking through the streets, you will find canals, gabled houses and quiet corners that reflect the town's scholarly past.

Opening hours for the church vary, and it may be open mainly during the summer months or for events, so check locally in advance. Franeker is close to Leeuwarden and Harlingen, and the three can be combined in a day of exploring Friesland. The church suits visitors with an interest in architecture, local history or quiet reflection. Franeker’s other sights are close enough that Stepping out of the church puts you almost at once among them.