More than 400 important citizens of Delft found their final resting place in the old church, including the famous painter Jan Vermeer. Several information boards and memorial display cases point to the crypt. The consequences of the conflagration in the 16th century, the Delft thunderclap in the 17th century and the iconoclasms on the occasion of the Reformation are obvious. A lot of the church's former splendor was lost. However, the colorful windows have been preserved and tell the most important biblical stories like a picture book. With a bit of luck you can listen to an organ playing and admire the great acoustics. The landmark is the leaning tower, 78 meters high, with the largest bell in Holland, weighing 9 tons and with an extremely impressive sound quality, which only very rarely rings because its vibrations massively damage the statics of the tower. A visit to the Oude Kerk is worth it despite the €8 entrance fee, especially since it includes a visit to the new church!

The Netherlands is truly a remarkable country, rich in culture and history, where every city has something for the adept traveller to explore. Ever since Proust proclaimed his View of Delft  "the most beautiful painting in the world," art lovers worldwide have been enraptured by this spellbinding work. Delft is a quaint Dutch city of about 100,000 people, due south from Amsterdam and Den Haag which in the 13th century became a renowned centre of printing, pottery and, by the early 17th century, fine art. In the old city quarter, the pivotal points of Vermeer’s life are concentrated around the marketplace. His father owned a Tavern, the Mechelen, in Voldersgracht which historians claim to be the area that inspired his exquisite painting 'the Little Street ' The guildhall, Voldersgracht 21, was the home of the guild of Saint Luke, where Vermeer, following in his father’s footsteps, joined as a member in 1653. A simple plaque marks the grave of Johannes Vermeer in the historic and beautiful Gothic Oude Kerk and this is an appropriate place to pause and reflect on the life of the Master of Light.

The core of this Gothic church dates from 1246, a time when most of Delft's buildings were made of wood. Gradually, over the next 200 years the church got its final shape. As with many colossal structures in Holland and Zeeland the soft soil is problematic. It is the main reason the 75m high tower added in 1350 is leaning. Since the Reformation the interior of the church is sober. No distraction from the word of God was the motto of the Protestant rebels during the iconoclasm end 1500s. However, the rich ornamentation of the tombs of Tromp and Hein (17th century Dutch seafarers) seem already a sign of moderation of the early radical Protestant stand. Johannes Vermeer, the famous painter from Delft is also buried in the church (simple tomb stone). I liked the excellent information provision (not too much text, focus on what is essential). A pity, you are obliged to buy a combo ticket (8,50€) which includes the fee for the other historic church in Delft.

The combination tickets bought for €8.50 here you can also enter the new church. Impressive to see, beautiful stained glass windows that each tell a story. The naval heroes Piet Hein and Maarten Tromp are buried here, as are Johannes Vermeer and Anthoni van Leeuwenhoek. Piet Hein's tomb is under restoration, you can see. There is a lot of information everywhere, this is very nice and makes it clear. Oh yes and the tower is out of control!

Nice place to visit. You will see beautiful architecture, statues inside and get to know some history. It doesn’t take much time inside. I think 20 minutes would be enough for a slow walk and making pictures

The Gothic style Oude Kerk (Old Church) in Delft seems not to be very interesting, I had read about it previously so I didn't visit it. But the leaning bell tower, conspicuously, is an interesting curiosity. It can be seen from several bridges along the Oude Deft canal. There are no indications so it is quite difficult to find the right points, we did not find them immediately with a bit of luck. Com GPS search for Oude Delft.

After the Nieuwe Kerk with the combi ticket also visited the Oude Kerk. Also a somewhat austere church just like the Nieuwe Kerk. Here some info (at the moment about Vermeer and old naval heroes). Visitation is part of the job, but of course the mausoleum etc makes the difference, this in favour of the Nieuwe Kerk.

Ancient church, surrounded by trees. Very beautiful both outside and inside. Rather cold inside (bring a sweater). The combined ticket with the new church and the climb to its bell tower is convenient.

The Old Church is a short walk from the New Church and doesn't seem to get as many visitors. The combination ticket is a good deal though and you get to see Vermeer's burial stone. There were few other visitors during my visit here.

We enjoyed our visit here. Lots of great stained glass. The guide is quite good on the history and who is featured. Vermeil has 2 sites, he was broke and not famous when he died, and buried in one spot. After he became famous, they made another much more prominent stone for him in a different location. We did the combo ticket with the new church which was nearby