United Protestant Church: Fort Church - Willemstad, Curacao

Fort Church

Willemstad, Curacao

N 12° 06.283 W 068° 56.067

Short Description: 

Fort Church is located in the southwest corner of Fort Amsterdam in Willemstad, Curacao

Long Description:

Fort Amsterdam was constructed in 1634 by the Dutch West India Company. It served as a military fort but also as the headquarters of the Dutch West India Company in Curacao. Construction of a Protestant church began in 1763 on the site of a warehouse. Because of financial problems the church was not completed until several years later.  The date of construction is  prominently displayed on the facade of the church - ANNO 1769. A second date appears on the cupola, 1903, which is the year the Fort Church was restored.The fort was restored in 1903. The four sided single handed clocks are located in the clock tower on the roof. The clock tower carries the restoration date, 1903, but retains the original clockworks from 1788.

The church was originally associated with the Netherlands Reformed Church. In 1825, King Willem I decided for European political reasons to unite the Reformed and Lutheran church into the United Protestant Church.

In 1804 the British invaded Curacao. A cannonball fired by British captain John Bligh, of HMS Theseus, hit the church. The cannon ball is still embedded in the upper left side of the wall of the Fort Church.