Almost eight months after the fire that gutted it, the Vondelkerk has disappeared entirely behind scaffolding and sheeting. The aim is to have the church restored by 2028.
Owner Stadsherstel puts the full cost of that restoration at around 20 million euros. Roughly 3 million of it has still not been found.
The Insurance Did Not Cover Everything
The building was well insured, but not everything is reimbursed, which is where the shortfall comes from.
Crowdfunding has already brought in about 400,000 euros from 5,000 donors. “So that is not enough,” said Stella van Heezik, head of fundraising at Stadsherstel.
A Benefit Exhibition at the Amstelkerk
To help close the gap, a selling exhibition called Vondelkerk in Vuur en Vlam has opened at the Amstelkerk. Entry is free.
Every work in it has some connection to the Vondelkerk and every work is for sale, from charcoal drawings and photographs to paintings and metal art. Prices run from a few hundred euros to a few thousand.
The show was the idea of Bas Lubberhuizen, a former tenant of the Vondelkerk, and artist Roy Licher. Various artists donated pieces, with the proceeds going partly or entirely to the restoration.
Of roughly 35 works, twelve had already sold when the exhibition was reported on. Even the burnt wood from the church is being sold to raise money.
