In this article, I'd like to cover a bit more than just the Klipkerk (translated stone church) and delve into some pre-history and related history. Two related church communities appear in this history. There is the Nederduits Hervormde Kerk and the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk, both translated to English as Dutch Reformed Church. Throughout the article I will use the abbreviations NH and NG respectively.
We have to go back into history before the Klipkerk was built. First there was the Kruiskerk, a church in the layout of a crucifix. This was erected by the NH in 1865 on the same square where the Klipkerk stands today. It was on the east side of the square, where the parking area is now. The later Klipkerk was erected very close to it,
Heinrich Ueckermann, the founder of Heidelberg (click here for details), had something to do with that, being the secretary of the church council responsible for affecting payment to the contractor. From the records we know that the cost was 6326 pounds, 5 shillings and 2 pennies.
Inside the Heidelberg NG Church
The Klipkerk was constructed by the United Church, a union negotiated in 1885 between the NH and NG churches. That is why the corner stone calls it the ‘Herformde of Gereformeerde Kerk’, the ‘of’ is Dutch and means ‘or’.
The unity didn’t last very long...
