This stained glass window depicts two important scenes from the life of Mary and her son Jesus Christ. In the foreground, shepherds, who recognized in Christ their savior, gather around Mary's newborn son, while angels hover above them. In the background you see the presentation of Jesus. This scene takes place a ruined temple - a typical mannerist detail from.

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## A gift from the city, to the city.

This window was donated to the Oude Kerk by the city of Amsterdam. At the bottom, the four patron saints of Amsterdam - St. Nicholas, John the Baptist, Mary and St. Catherine - are depicted, next to them large the coat of arms of Amsterdam carried by two lions. Also at the top of the window are various heraldic marks of Amsterdam.

## A window from different centuries.

The design of the window Adoration of the Shepherds, made in 1555, is attributed to the architect and painter Lambert van Noort (c. 1520-1571), while the execution is attributed to the glazier Digman Meynaert (1543-1558). However, many of the glass panels in this window date from later periods.

In the eighteenth century, M.E. de Angelis and his son performed a restoration, replacing several glass panels with new copies. The original panels, however, were preserved. During a subsequent restoration, performed by J.L. Schouten between 1901 and 1907, De Angelis' copies were removed and replaced partly with the original panels and partly with new copies by Schouten himself.

During World War II, all the stained glass windows of the Oude Kerk were removed and stored in the Reichsschuilkelder in Zandvoort for safety reasons. In the 1960s, the windows were reinstalled by Atelier Bogtman. In addition, in the 1970s, Atelier Bogtman placed fragments from Adoration of the Shepherds - originally made by De Angelis and later removed by Schouten - as replicas and assemblages in Sint-Sebastiaanskapel, Sint-Joriskapel and Binnenlandvaarderskapel.

## The new Maria kapel on the eve of the Alteration

The Oude Kerk was built largely through donations from wealthy Amsterdam residents. Guilds, fraternities and wealthy families founded chapels, altars and richly decorated windows. With these they expressed devotion to the Catholic Church, but it was also a way to exude power and wealth. The Maria kapel is the last attached chapel of the Oude Kerk, built during the period of the Reformation. From the richly decorated windows here, however, you can taste that the Oude Kerk was still in the Catholic tradition then, while the Alteration would follow not long after the chapel was built.

It is remarkable, then, that the windows depicting the [Annunciation and Visitation](https://openarchive.oudekerk.nl/collect/4704-54), the Adoration of the Shepherds and the [Deathbed of Mary](https://openarchive.oudekerk.nl/collect/4704-52) - which together form a series - survived the Oude Kerk's Protestant period. This while elsewhere in the church altars were destroyed and vault paintings were painted over. The fourth window in the series, which depicted the family tree of Mary, did get replaced by the [Second Mayor's Window](https://openarchive.oudekerk.nl/collect/000177) in the eighteenth century. Today the series is part of Collection Netherlands.

## Stained glass windows in the Oude Kerk

Stained glass is a form of glass art. In the Middle Ages, the windows of churches were all or part stained glass which was held together in lead strips. As a result, light entered the church space in all sorts of sparkling colors. At its peak, the Oude Kerk had 25 stained glass windows, most of which date from the 16th century.

Period	16th century
Notes	gerestaureerd door De Angelis, 1761, J. Schouten, 1906 en atelier Bogtman in 1961. Onderdelen van restauratie De Angelis in 1979 door fa. Bogtman in raam westwand noordertransept geplaatst (zie inv.nr. 175). Een kopie van de benedenpartij werd in 1968 in het zuidertransept/Sebastaanskapel geplaatst (zie inv.nr. 174).
Location	Mariakapel
Materials	Gebrandschilderd glas (materiaal)
Number of parts	1