Witweg: Kampen

Kampen is one of the former Hanseatic towns on the river IJssel, and formerly on the “Zuiderzee”, the open sea, part of the North Sea. It has a famous church, the Bovenkerk, with an even better-known pipe organ. As I wanted to attend an organ recital in the evening, one in a series of many by my organist friend, all in celebration of his 60th anniversary as a musician, I decided to go earlier and explore Kampen. It is a rather sleepy town nowadays. It is no longer on open water, except the river, and fishing is a thing of the past. It used to house two theological colleges in the 20^th century, but since they were integrated in universities elsewhere, the students have gone and with them the liveliness. However, this small town or even city boasts of three city gates, it is surrounded by water, the river on one side, moats and parks on the other side, the parks on the former city walls. Besides, its position on the river is very attractive. The view of Kampen has been painted and photographed many times.

An old "Kogge"ship, a replica of a ship found in the former "Zuiderzee" from the time that Kampen still was a fishing town.

Apart from the Bovenkerk determining the skyline, it has many churches, some of them once the chapels of monasteries and nunneries. But that of course is a long time ago, before the Reformation.

The "Buitenkerk", quite at the other end of Kampen. A Roman Catholic Church which also has a well known organ, built by the famous Hinsz. However, it is in a poor state and has to be repaired.

When I set out exploring, it was overcast but warm and dry. Unfortunately that changed in the course of the afternoon, so I did not cross the river to admire the skyline of Kampen on the opposite side of the river. It was too wet and too windy. I had lunch and coffee in a very attractive lunchroom, a Jugendstil building.

Another view of the "Buitenkerk".

The Jugendstil Bakery and lunchroom next to the tower. A slanted view as there was no space to take it from another angle.

And surprisingly there is an Icon Museum in Kampen which houses a collection worth seeing. The houses in town all date from different periods. The narrow alleys, and the one long canal which dissects the length of the town, are worth seeing if one has an eye for picturesque scenes like that.

The tower from another perspective

... and with a cow hanging from the tower! This goes back to an anecdote referring to the supposed stupidity of the inhabitants of Kampen.

The Icon Museum

I had some trouble finding an attractive low key restaurant, but hit the right one, for my garlic prawns were absolutely delicious and beautifully presented, so the longish wait for them was worth it.

The Bovenkerk, seen from an alley with an old house, and from the square around it, the Mint Square, which explains the small statue in front of the church

There are several nice small sculptures all around Kampen.

Left: in front of one of the three city gates, right: on the river IJssel

In front of another city gate

I got to the church half an hour before the beginning of the recital, and so had a chance to have a look at the organ loft and the organ console with all the different stops. Quite complicated to be an organ assistant as it is not easy to remember the exact position of the stops and the corresponding manuals in just a short time before the concert. It can be a nightmare sometimes as I remember from the years I used to pull stops and turn pages.

I enjoyed the recital enormously.

The organ is famous for its absolutely fantastic sound quality. It has many possibilities, but whatever registration is chosen, the sound is always “cantabile”, melodious. Never shrill or harsh or dry. The French composers Boëllmann and Guilmant sounded most impressive and romantic on this organ. I had to close my eyes to really let the music do its job, even missing the view of the gorgeous organ front for that.

left: the organ in the choir or chancel. right, the decorated roof

I left Kampen at 10 pm. Unfortunately I had not booked a hotel or B&B and it took me almost two hours to drive home in ghastly weather and initially on narrow and very dark country roads. I should have chosen a different route, but once on this route there was no turning back. Anyway, I made it and felt very happy about the day in spite of the unpleasant weather. For an old town, two fantastic churches, golden Icons, and to top it all a very enjoyable organ recital on a splendid pipe organ, all that made my day.