Welcome to De Fortkerk | The Fortchurch The Protestant Cultural Historical Museum

Fortchurch painting by Fred Breebaart

Welcome to the website of De Fortkerk | The Fortchurch , the home of the United Protestant Church of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles. Built in 1769 as part of Fort Amsterdam in what is now the UNESCO World Heritage City of Willemstad, Curaçao, the Fortchurch is a Historic Monument and Museum (The Protestant Cultural Historical Museum).

Official Re-Opening of The Fortchurch Museum

On September 1, 2007 the newly renovated Fortchurch Museum was reopened to the public and garnered very enthusiastic reviews for the way in which it preserves and displays artifacts and cultural treasures from the very rich history of the Protestant community of Curaçao. You can see more pictures of the event here.

For the very latest on upcoming events organized by the Cultural Committee Fortkerk, please check here.

The United Protestant Church of Curaçao

The United Protestant Church of Curaçao was founded in 1825 as the result of the union of the 'Hervormde' and Lutheran Church at the urging of King Willem I. This fusion was facilitated by the fact that the Lutheran Church had lost its own church building on the quay at Otrabanda during a fire caused by the bombardments of the British in 1804 (this being the war between Great Britain and France - the Netherlands were then occupied by the French under Louis Napoleon who was proclaimed King of Holland in 1806). The British fired their shots from their stronghold at Fort Waakzaamheid, and a shot eventually reached the Fortchurch. The cannonball weighed around ten kilograms and to this day can still be seen lodged in the façade of the Church, above the left entrance. Please enjoy browsing through more of the rich history of the Fortchurch and the Protestant Community of Curaçao throughout the following pages.