A fire destroyed a 19th-century Amsterdam church on Thursday (01/01/2026) during a turbulent New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands. Two people were killed by fireworks and there were several acts of violence against the police. The fire broke out at dawn in Vondelkerk Church, whose construction began in 1872 and was completed in 1880.
The 50-meter-high tower collapsed and the roof was severely damaged, but authorities hope the structure remains intact. The cause of the fire is currently unclear, although fireworks were fired in the area of the building, the work of PJH Cuypers, the architect of the Rijksmuseum and the Dutch capital’s main train station. After the church closed in 1977, it was sold for one guilder to an investor who abandoned it. The building quickly fell into disrepair and was occupied by Squatters.
Night of riots
On the other hand, the head of the Dutch police union Nine Kooiman denounced a wave of “unprecedented violence” against police and emergency services during the New Year celebrations. She herself said she was hit by fireworks three times in Amsterdam and that in the city of Breda several people threw Molotov cocktails at officers.
In addition, two people, a 17-year-old minor and a 38-year-old man, died in accidents involving fireworks and three others were seriously injured. The Netherlands has banned the use of fireworks, so this was the last New Year’s Eve where the shooting of fireworks was allowed. Also in western Germany, in Bielefeld, there were two deaths due to the use of homemade pyrotechnic devices during New Year’s celebrations. Another fire claimed around forty lives in the Swiss town of Crans Montana. Dozens dead in fire in Switzerland
LGC (AFP, EFE)
About The Author
