Originally there was a chapel situated on the site of the current Aa-kerk church. This chapel was devoted to Mary and to Saint Nicholas, the patron of the bargees who cast off the vessels at the Westerhaven.

In 1247, the chapel became the parish church and was named Onze Lieve Vrouwe ter Aa (Our Lady at the Aa) - Aa being the nearby river. Groningen had two centers at the time. One of them was around the chapel. Here lived the fishermen and the traders. Between 1425 and 1465, the chapel was changed into a brick church with a transept.

Images of the Siege of Groningen in 1672 show Der Aa-kerk without the top of the tower. After the war a new wooden tower top was built. On 23 April 1710, the tower spontaneously collapsed killing two people. In 1711, a new tower was built.

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Founded: 13th century
Category: Religious sites in Netherlands

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

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4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Helena Sahler (3 months ago)
Beautiful church with an impressive tower. Very friendly and knowledgeable stuff.
Robin Irwin (2 years ago)
This church is named after a river called the 'AA' That has its origins in the Dutch province of Drente. The river joins the waters surrounding the city. It was built in the 13th century at the same time the Martinitower was built. This church had a lot Frisian connections, divided the city between 2 separated areas between the local citizens and the Frisian community. Up until the sixteenth century a picture of Charlemagne was in the church with a caption referring to the Frisian Freedom granted by him. During the centuries the church underwent many additions to the church itself. In 1711 the tower itself seemed to have collapsed suddenly and was fortunately rebuilt. the church was restored several times in the 20th century, most recently in 1982.
Jacopo Beta (3 years ago)
Really nice church with suuuuuuuuuuuper high roofs.
Kristina Thornton (4 years ago)
Beautiful, cool, airy and peaceful inside. The wooden churchtower is the prettiest in Groningen, my favorite landmark. Happily, the toilet facilities were very modern and clean!
ashish lakra (4 years ago)
Its a grt piece of History...They use it for concerts and shows these days....Sad they dnt use it as an active church
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