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Vondelkerk restoration faces a 3 million euro gap, and art is being sold to close it

Eight months after the fire, the landmark church is wrapped in scaffolding with a 20 million euro restoration underway, and a benefit art exhibition at the Amstelkerk is helping to fund the missing millions.

Essentially Amsterdam staff · Published August 16, 2026 at 8:25 p.m. CEST · 1 min read

vondelkerk2

Nearly eight months after fire tore through the Vondelkerk, the church stands completely wrapped in scaffolding.

Owner Stadsherstel wants the monument restored by 2028.

The total bill is estimated at about 20 million euros.

Insurance does not cover it all

Even with the insurance payout, roughly 3 million euros are still missing.

That gap now has to come from donations, funds and creative fundraising.

Art for the church

One of those efforts is a benefit exhibition at the Amstelkerk, where donated works are shown and sold for the restoration.

Entry is free, and every sale moves the 1880 Cuypers church a small step closer to reopening.

The Vondelkerk survived demolition plans in the 1970s and an earlier fire in 1904.

Its supporters are betting it can survive this one too.

Source: NH Nieuws

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