Zutphen's downtown and St. Walburgis Church. by Bart Ros

Zutphen's downtown and St. Walburgis Church.

Middle Ages
The 11th-century oldest part of the church was first dedicated to both Peter and Walburga, but the former disappeared from view during the 12th century. Until about 1250, the Walburgis church was the only parish church of Zutphen until the Nieuwstads church was founded.

Renaissance
The tower has a height of 76 meters, but was 117 meters high until 1600. This made the tower taller than Utrecht Cathedral. Near the church is the Librije, a chain library from 1561. It is one of the three remaining libraries of this type in Europe.

Since 1591, St. Walburgis Church has been a Protestant church. After the Protestants took over the church, they demolished the vault of the crypt in 1595, after which the floor was leveled.

Eighteenth to twentieth centuries
The trefoil on the high choir was installed in 1729 and was renewed in 1981. The south porch was repaired and partially renewed in 1888-1892.

The church underwent its first major restoration between 1890 and 1919. B. Peteri was in charge of it and after 1894 architect H.A. Ezerman. P.J.H. Cuypers was an advisor. In 1945, the church suffered heavy damage that was repaired during the restoration of 1948-1962. On March 30, 1948, the spire, the peppercorn from 1633, burned down. After decades of discussion about the new crowning of the tower, a spire in the same shape was installed in 1970,[1] followed by an interior-oriented restoration in the years 1979-1998. The north portal (Mariaportaal) was restored again in 1992.[2]
The Walburgiskerk was owned by the Protestant Municipality of Zutphen, in 2016 it was transferred to the Stichting Oude Gelderse Kerken (SOGK). The Walburgiskerk Zutphen Foundation is responsible for its operation. In the summer, the Bader organ is played during Sunday services and at many concerts.