For centuries, the Laurenskerk determined the skyline of Rotterdam and formed the heart of the city. After the bombing of 14 May 1940, the city centre shifted to the west during the reconstruction and the cityscape changed drastically.

Nowadays, the Laurenskerk shares its prominent place with icons such as the Euromast and the Erasmus Bridge. Yet it remains special: as one of the few remaining monuments of old Rotterdam, the church is a tangible reminder of the past. The city changed, grew and renewed, but the Laurenskerk always remained in its familiar place.

The Laurenskerk is named after Laurentius, the patron saint of Rotterdam. The saints depicted in this chapel were venerated in the church in the Middle Ages. Some were patron saints of guilds, others were invoked in case of illness or adversity.
Saints are seen as mediators between people and God and are recognizable by their fixed attributes. The statues in this chapel date from around 1900. They are a reminder of the rich culture of saints that occupied an important place in the Laurenskerk for centuries.

In the sixteenth century, new ideas about the Christian faith spread rapidly throughout Europe. This Reformation, or Reformation, is made possible in part by the invention of the printing press. The Protestant movement turns against the wealth and abuse of power within the Roman Catholic Church.

Protestantism also became the official religion in the Netherlands. The transition from the Laurenskerk to the Calvinists in 1572 was remarkably quiet. Many Catholic elements disappeared: the high altar was demolished, paintings were chalked over and valuable ecclesiastical objects were sold.

The invention of the printing press around 1450 made it possible to spread knowledge quickly and on a large scale. Like the internet centuries later, the printing press changed the way people shared information and developed new ideas.

In the seventeenth century, Rotterdam grew into an important centre of printing and the free exchange of ideas. The first library in the city was located in the Laurenskerk. For this exhibition, the Rotterdam Library put together a New Library with books chosen by today’s Rotterdammers. Just like in the past, the books are chained.

Prayers have been prayed in this church over the centuries. People come here to say their prayers in silence or together. In this way they turn to God, but also inwardly, to their own heart and soul.
In this chapel, people light a candle and say a prayer. For someone they love, for a sick person or for someone they miss. Sometimes out of gratitude, sadness or hope, and sometimes when words are missing.

Praying and lighting a candle offer a moment of peace and reflection. It is a way to reflect on what concerns us and to feel people, living and deceased, close in our thoughts. For many, it is also a way to entrust their concerns and wishes to God.
The small flame brings light into the dark and symbolizes love, comfort and hope.

.

For centuries, the Laurenskerk has been the place where people come together to celebrate and commemorate, alone,
but also together. Celebrations are important in every human life, regardless of religion, culture or background. What people celebrate
and how they do it says a lot about what people think is important.
Parties emphasize the similarities more often than the differences between people and bring people together. Each of the thirteen cabinets depicts a party that is celebrated in Rotterdam today. The dates of most holidays are calculated using the moon.
Because most religions follow a different calendar than the Western Christian calendar, festivals can fall on a different day every year.

In the Chapel of Peace and Reconciliation, the bombing of Rotterdam is commemorated. Every Friday at 13:00, as in more than 160 churches around the world, the prayer for Peace and Reconciliation is prayed here.
The stained glass commemorative window is titled ‘Peace and Reconciliation’ and depicts the bombing of Rotterdam, Coventry and Dresden and the peace that followed later. The churches of these three cities have become important symbols for the war and the period after it. The decision to restore the Laurenskerk was taken not long after the war. Next to the ruins of the old Saint Michaels Cathedral in Coventry, a new cathedral was built after the war. The remains of the Frauenkirche in Dresden remain as a permanent memory, until the church is completely restored in 1994.

Rotterdam has a lot of poverty: many people are struggling to keep their heads above water. In Rotterdam there are all kinds of
institutions, both religious and non-religious, that are committed to helping these people with food, shelter and care. Thijs Wolzak’s photo series – inspired by the seven panels of the Works of Mercy by the Master of Alkmaar from 1504 – portrays seven modern Works.
The works are based on the Gospel of Matthew (25:35-36, 40) and are about helping people in need.

In the Laurenskerk people were baptized, married and buried. There has been crying, laughter and prayers, for centuries people have come together here to celebrate and commemorate. Children are still baptized, married and funeral ceremonies are held there. This makes the Laurenskerk the emotional epicenter of Rotterdam. Life and death are part of faith. Rituals around birth and death are part of the basic repertoire of liturgical acts.
Man is mortal and that means that every day of his life counts and is important. But at the same time, death is not the end.
The ‘I will live‘ and ‘I will die‘ that lights up alternately in the mirrors refers to that Christian message.

In the Chapel of the Mission, cartoonist Paul Bodoni portrays four hundred years of missionary history. Missions played an important role in the spread of the Christian faith around the world.
Initially, missions were mainly linked to the trade interests of the VOC. Pastors provided church services for the Dutch merchants and, if that did not cause unrest, were also allowed to convert the local population. Missionaries traveled to distant lands to spread the faith, often under difficult circumstances.
In the twentieth century, attention shifted more and more to practical help, such as education, health care and agriculture.

The Laurenskerk is the oldest building in the center of Rotterdam. For many Rotterdammers, the Laurenskerk is the symbol of pre- and post-war Rotterdam. The Laurens is a reference to a vanished past, the reconstruction and a constant in a city that reinvents itself every decade. Over the centuries, the church has been through a lot: subsidence, fire and then to the years of the intensive reconstruction of the church up to and including the last tower restoration in 2010: the Laurens is always being built