Protestant church of Jistrum

Geschiedenis

The Protestant church of Jistrum or Saint Peter's church is a medieval religious building in Jistrum, Friesland, Netherlands. It is a well preserved and complete 13th century Romanesque church built of red brick, located in the center of the village on Schoolstraat 2. The church is listed as a Rijksmonument, number 35645.HistoryThe Romanesque church was built in the 13th century, the tower is a little older and dates from c. 1230. The church was once a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Peter but was stripped of the Saints statues and painted/decorated walls in one week in 1581 during the Protestant Reformation and became a Protestant church.Interior and exteriorThe nave and the semicircular choir date from the 13th century, while the tower dates from around 1230. The church has a gabled roof. On the corners of the nave is a buttress in brickwork, the outer walls are on the upper side decorated with so called keper friezen. The north wall has two Romanesque windows located in the higher zone of the wall, and the lower zone has two closed entrances with brick. The southern wall shows a similar layout but has two large lancet windows build in it, with one small Romanesque window at the tower side. The choir has five regular placed Romanesque windows and the nave is covered with a Romanesque-Gothic domevault. In each bay eight ribs come together in a ring. In the west bay the ribs are squire shaped. During a renovation two hagioscopes were discovered and restored. These windows are also known as leprozenruitjes (windows for people with leprosy).