Building history
From Counts' chapel to city church
The Pieterskerk in Leiden reached its current dimensions in the fifteenth century. The architectural style of the church is Late Gothic but its origin is much older. 
Around 1100, the Counts of Holland, who had a residence in Leiden, had a chapel in the middle of the nave of the current Pieterskerk. The chapel was renovated in 1121, after which bishop Godebald from Utrecht consecrated it anew. Since no depictions of the chapel have been preserved, its exact appearance remains a mystery. It was most likely Romanesque in style.
The purposes of the church changed in 1268. The Counts'chapel becama a parish church. Due to the growth of the Leiden population, the church was replaced by a larger building around 1300. Fifty years later, this church had an imposing tower named 'King of the Sea', which had been built in stages and was ultimately more than 110 meters tall including the ca. 35 meter wooden spire. It was so tall that captains at sea used the tower as a point of reference.
The Pieterskerk of the fourteenth century soon needed to be expanded again. The building of the new church began in 1390 and would take approximately 180 years. The most important master builder was Rutger van Kampen, also known as Rutger van Keulen. He was also involved in the building of the Bovenkerk in Kampen, which may still be seen today in the similarities in style.
The new church followed a floor plan in the shape of a Latin cross. The choir was built first, situated around the old one so that services could continue uninterrupted. Halfway through the construction, Aernt van den Dom, who also worked on the Dom in Utrecht, took over after Rutger van Keulen died. The choir was completed in 1412 and could be consecrated. After that, the nave was built, initially with only one side aisle on both sides. It was only after 1450 that the side aisles were doubled. Herman van Aken was the "master of the work".
Around 1500, the church had more or less its current form, with two differences: the transept was still as tall as the side aisles and the base of the tower was on the western side of the church. In 1512, however, the tower collapsed. A new tower was never built; they managed with a belfry on the square. The place the tower had stood was incorporated by the church. Two pillars in the transept were removed to complete the series of arcs extending to the western wall. A new gate was built in the western wall and the transepts were raised to the height of the nave. The year 1565, carved in a crossbeam in the south transept, marked the end of the building of this church. Plans for further expansion, such as doubling the choir aisle, were never executed.
The church may be from the Middle Ages but the windows are not. After the Reformation (1572), the original stained glass windows fell into disrepair. When a ship filled with gunpowder exploded on the Rapenburg close by in 1807, nothing remained of the windows. The current windows date from the nineteenth century, with the exception of the stained glass window behind the choir, which is from 1940. It was constructed by George Rüter in memory of Filips van Marnix of St. Aldegonde. In the seventeenth century, small houses were built against the church, probably in accordance with a plan by Arent van 's Gravensande. They have only been preserved on the side of the choir.
