Sacramentsnissen in Groninger kerken

Abstract

In the Middle Ages, the consecrated Host was usually stored in a niche in the choir wall that could be securely closed to prevent theft or desecration. During the Reformation, these sacrament niches or tabernacles were damaged or completely destroyed. However, there are traces of them still in many churches. In the province of Groningen, at least 36 of the 106 Medieval churches still have sacrament niches. They are characterised by being stone lined, and several niches have a special feature. This can be a crown of canned stone, a wall painting or a special frame. The few iconographical traces left in the paintings reveal the monstrance and the Annunciation. Knowledge about the original figuration of the niches in the Netherlands can be broadened by comparing them with niches in the Lutheran areas of Northern Germany and Sweden. Far more of the Medieval set-up is preserved there than in Calvinist Holland.