Built between 1603 and 1611 in Amsterdam Renaissance style, as a pseudo-basilica in Gothic style, after a design by Hendrick de Keyser (buried in the church in 1621), the Zuiderkerk (Southern church) was the city's first church built specifically for Protestant services. It was used for church service until 1929, since 1988 serving as a municipal information centre. The distinctive church tower, which dominates the surrounding area (it has around 75m high including the wooden spire), wasn't completed until 1614 and contains a carillon of bells built by the brothers Hemony, installed in 1656 along with four bells which are rang monthly.
Three of Rembrandt's children, and also Ferdinand Bol, one of Rembrandt's most famous pupils, were buried in the Zuiderkerk, which is very near to Rembrandt's house in the Jodenbreestraat. French Impressionist painter Claude Monet painted the church during a visit to the Netherlands. The composition is centred on the church spire, with the Groenburgwal canal leading up to it in the foreground. The painting is now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
About the stamps
The stamp is part of Green Progress set, about which I wrote here.
References
Zuiderkerk - Wikipedia
Zuiderkerk, Amsterdam’s First Protestant Church - Netherlands Tourism
Sender: Marius Vasilescu
Sent from Amsterdam (North Holland / Netherlands), on 29.01.2013
Photo: Max Leser
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