Fort Church - Willemstad, Curacao
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 12° 06.283 W 068° 56.067
19P E 507132 N 1338133
Fort Church is located in the southwest corner of Fort Amsterdam in Willemstad, Curacao
Waymark Code: WMXVM6
Location: Curaçao
Date Posted: 03/03/2018
Views: 8
Fort Amsterdam was constructed in 1634 by the Dutch West India Company. It served as a military fort but also as the headquarters of the Dutch West India Company in Curacao. Construction of a Protestant church began in 1763 on the site of a warehouse. Because of financial problems the church was not completed until several years later. The fort was restored in 1903. The four sided single handed clocks are located in the clock tower on the roof. The clock tower carries the restoration date, 1903, but retains the original clockworks from 1788.
The church was originally associated with the Netherlands Reformed Church. In 1825, King Willem I decided, for European political reasons, to unite the Reformed and Lutheran church into the United Protestant Church.
In 1804 the British invaded Curacao. A cannonball fired by British captain John Bligh, of HMS Theseus, hit the church. The cannon ball is still embedded in the upper left side of the wall of the Fort Church.
Status: Working
Display: Mounted
Year built: 01/01/1903
Web link to additional info: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Photo of clock.