Berg Church / Bergkerk

The St. Nicholas Church or Bergkerk in Deventer is originally a Romanesque cross basilica.

The Bergkerk was built in the years 1198-1209, close to the then Deventer harbor district. It was founded in the heyday of the Hanseatic city by Norbertines from Westphalian Varlar (near Coesfeld). The church, a Romanesque cross basilica, was dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of boaters. The building is very similar to churches from the Baltic Sea countries. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Livonia.

There is a legend that describes how the Bergkerk was built. Two Deventer sisters, Martha and Beatrix, were impressed by a knight who had come to Deventer. They both competed for this man's favor. Beatrix eventually married the knight, leaving Martha alone. Martha then had the church built with two towers, one slightly higher than the other, since the two sisters also differed in height. This would explain the alleged difference in height between the two west towers.

In the 15th century, the Bergkerk underwent various renovations, giving it a late Gothic character. The two characteristic spiers were built in that period (the lower part of the towers is still original).

In 1580 the church passed into the hands of the Protestants; From then on, the building belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church. As usual, the interior was immediately stripped of its Catholic features. The wall and vault paintings disappeared under a layer of whitewash.

During a major restoration from 1915 to 1924, led by Wolter te Riele, the old paintings were exposed and restored. The paintings on the east wall of the old Romanesque transept date from the early 13th century.[1] In 1967, the church council sold the church for the symbolic amount of 1 guilder to the municipality of Deventer, which thus took responsibility for its expensive maintenance. In 2010, restoration work was again carried out on the church towers.

The current organ was built in the years 1841-1843 by the Deventer Johann Heinrich Holtgräve. Nowadays the Bergkerk is used for exhibitions, meetings and concerts. In 2016, climate control and security meet the standards of the Cultural Heritage Agency.