Nicolaas Church
The Nicholas Church of Koarnjum was built in 1873, replacing a dilapidated early medieval church. In the choir of the church are three signs with the ten commandments, the creed and Our Father, all from the previous church. The tomb of the young philosopher David van Goorle (1591-1612) is found in the aisle.
About this building
Koarnjum is located just north of Leeuwarden, on the eastern side of the former Middelzee, between the villages of Jelsum and Britsum. In Koarnjum stood the old Martenastate, which was replaced in 1899 by a castle designed by architect Willem Cornelis de Groot. The five-sided closed hall church is six arches deep and has been built to a design by architect Foppe Brouwer. The extension of the middle traveen with gable tops lead to a lively section of the facades. There are small neo-Gothic pointed arch windows in those gables. The tops are equipped with climbing friezes and they are also framed in artificial stone and provided with shoulders and heavy pinnacles. The traveene are open with generous pointed arch windows. Closed niches in the same shape are provided in the choir clasp. The walls of the church nave and the choir closure are articulated with pilasters who actually carry nothing with their list capitals. Blue glazed, corrugated Frisian tiles lie on the hipped roof. Neo-Gothic forms dominate in eclectic design, but neo-classicalism and neo-Renaissance can also be recognized. The tower is half-built in the church and has three sections of uneven height. In the first section you can find the entrance party with a decorative pointed overhead light. In the second section there are round timepieces on three sides. The third section has paired reverb holes on all sides in pointed arch shape. Profiled cordon bands of artificial stone have been applied on the transitions of the sections. A large series of heavy consoles carries the gutter. The tower is crowned with an eight-sided pointed striker.
