page_title: Yerseke
section_title: Churches and religion
hierarchical_section_title: Yerseke / Churches and religion
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Kerkgebouw Gereformeerde Gemeente te Yerseke
context_page_description: Yerseke is a village situated on the southern shore of the Oosterschelde estuary in the Dutch province of Zeeland. A separate municipality until 1970, it today forms part of the municipality of Reimerswaal. As of 2010 Yerseke had a recorded population of 6,695 inhabitants, living in 2,680 households.
  The fishing village is well known for its aquaculture. Tourists visit the oyster pits, harbors and museum of the town and fishing industry, as well as the annual celebration of the mussel harvest in August. The village furthermore plays host to the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.
context_section_description: The main church of the town is the Dutch Reformed Church Protestant congregation located in the centre of the village, also historically the highest point of the surrounding area. This church is part of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN), formed by a merger in 2004 with the Lutheran churches.
  The main medieval church, a grade-listed building built in a simple Gothic style, was constructed in the second half of the 15th century, although a church has stood on the same spot since the 12th century. The nave was lost to fire or flooding in 1532. The original transept, crossing, choir and sacristy remain, and form the functioning church today. The church added a 51-meter neo-Gothic bell tower in 1887 and received its first organ a year later.
  On May 16, 1940, during the Battle of Zeeland, naval bombardment severely damaged the church: the bell tower and roof both collapsed, while fire gutted the interior, destroying the stained-glass windows and organ in the process. The church was restored in 1948, while the tower was never rebuilt, eventually replaced with a much smaller belfry atop the crossing’s roof. A bay was added to the west side of the crossing, where a new organ was installed in 1974, partially with funds from a villager who emigrated to the United States. The difference between the new and old bricks is clearly visible.
  Additional churches and congregations in the town include:
  Hervormde Gemeente Rehoboth (PKN)
  Netherlands Reformed Congregation, a conservative denomination with the largest congregation in town,
  Free Evangelical Church
  Reformed Church (PKN)
  Due to lack of congregants, a small Catholic church built in 1893 was remodeled as a residence from 2003 onwards.
caption: Church of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Yerseke
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