Pieterskerk (Saint Peter Church), Leiden (must see)

The Dutch word for "images storm" refers not to the weather, but to the inundations of violent iconoclasts that accompanied the Calvinist Reformation in the Netherlands in the 16th century. All Catholic art and images were stripped and looted from the churches. Stained glass windows were boarded up.

The pre-Reformation Saint Peter Church dated from about 1100 when the counts of Holland built a chapel on the site. The chapel was rebuilt in 1121. The current Church was completed in 1570, after 180 years of building. It opened for its first Protestant service in 1572.

Famed Dutch painter Rembrandt grew up and lived in the neighborhood of Saint Peter Church. His parents were married in the church in 1589. They are buried in front of the pulpit. Rembrandt frequented the church throughout his life. He was buried in Westerkerk in Amsterdam, in 1669.

In 1807 a devastating gunpowder explosion obliterated what was left of the stained glass windows. A major restoration was undertaken in 1880. The Saint Peter's Church was deconsecrated in 1971. With Government assistance, a long-term restoration was completed in 2010. Many artifacts, including a mummy, were unearthed.

John Robinson, the pastor of the "Pilgrim Fathers" of America, was buried in Saint Peter's Church. On October 3rd, each year, the people of Leiden offer thanks to God for saving the city in the Spanish siege of 1573. The proceedings are followed by eating herring and white bread with lots of beer.