An historic church standing near Amsterdam’s famous Vondelpark was engulfed by fire early Thursday morning, causing the church tower to collapse in on itself.
The blaze erupted at the Vondelkerk shortly before 01:00 in the church tower.
According to preliminary reports, there were no casualties.
Vision released on social media shows the flames building as they took hold of the highest parts of the church as helpless spectators looked on.
The blaze went on to cut off the electricity of almost 100 nearby homes.
Dramatic images from across Amsterdam showed flames and smoke pouring out of the 154-year-old place of worship into the night sky.
The tower of the Vondelkerk church burns during New Year’s Eve, in Amsterdam on January 1, 2026. (Laurens Niezen / ANP / AFP via Getty)
“The Vondelkerk is no longer salvageable,” said a spokeswoman for the Veiligheidsregio Amsterdam-Amstelland. “The entire church is on fire. The whole church may collapse.”
The cause of the fire in the church, whose construction began in 1872, is still unknown.
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