St Lambert Church Buren - Buren

Between the cosy streets of the small town of Buren in Gelderland, at the intersection of the Market with the Herenstraat and the Peperstraat, the impressive Sint-Lambertus church suddenly rises. In 1367, the church was founded as a chapel and in 1395 Buren was given permission to form an independent parish. The Roman Catholic parish church was named after St Lambert, bishop of Maastricht and patron saint of textile workers.

On 8 July 1551, the Archbishop of Cologne performed the marriage between Anna van Egmont and William of Orange in this church. The young bride and groom were only 18 years old, but their marriage was grand and influential. Despite being a political marriage, the two were very fond of each other, as evidenced by letters they wrote to each other and the nickname William had for his wife, he called her Tanneke.

During the Reformation, the church, and also the Van Oranje family, became Protestant sometime between 1551 and 1616. This was probably after the death of Anna van Egmont in 1558, but in any case before the death of their daughter Maria in 1616. She was buried with Protestant worship in a tomb in that year, under the choir of St Lambert's church. This church is therefore a Protestant church to this day.

In the little square behind the church is a bronze statue depicting the Van Oranje couple with two of their children.

Photo from above: Gelders Archief
Photo interior: Nationaal Archief