Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk (Alkmaar)

The Grote Kerk (1470–1498), dedicated to St Lawrence, is a handsome building and contains the tomb of Floris V, Count of Holland (d. 1296), a brass of 1546, and some paintings (1507).

The magnificent casework, which unusually stretches from floor to vault and makes the organ part of the architecture of the church, was designed by Jacob van Campen, a leading architect of the time.

The organ has not been changed much since then, and is rare in that 90 percent of the original material, pipework, action, soundboards, case, survives.

It is the subject of a documentary made in 2013 and released on DVD by Fugue State Films as "Alkmaar: The Organs of the Laurenskerk".

The hour bell (bourdon) was made by Casparus and Johannes Moer in 1525, with a diameter or 130 cm.

[3] In 2014 the turret is undergoing restoration; the bell part is by Clock o Matic from Holsbeek Belgium.

The church is formally owned by the "Stichting Behoud Monumentale Kerken Alkmaar" (foundation for the preservation of heritage churches in Alkmaar), which conducts restoration activities and rents it out for weddings and concerts, but also facilitates various cultural initiatives of the city.