Lecture Genealogical Working Group: Hessel de Walle about burial vaults

Burial Vaults in Friesland: An Underground History

Hessel de Walle (1958) about his lecture: "When the word “burial vault” is mentioned, many people’s thoughts turn to the impressive ceremonies held in and around the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft at the beginning of this century, when three members of our royal family were laid to rest in the large burial vault there in accordance with tradition. Many of us undoubtedly remember the poignant images of former Queen Juliana and Princes Claus and Bernhard being carried to their final resting places.

Like the cities of Delft and Breda, the Frisian capital has its own Nassau family crypt. It is located in the Grote or Jacobijnerkerk. In the past, members of the Nassau stadtholder family, who resided in Leeuwarden, were laid to rest there with great pomp and ceremony. The province of Friesland, incidentally, has many more burial vaults. These were primarily used to inter members of the local nobility. Friesland does not have a single vault that can be compared in stature and size to that of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft. Nor is there a single burial vault within the church walls still in use here. The law had effectively prohibited this since 1829 and definitively since 1866.

What exactly do we mean by a burial vault? We shouldn’t limit our thinking to a large, underground vault inside or outside a church where the deceased can be—or could be—interred through an entrance. The Germans may have a better term for it: Grabkammer. A masonry chamber intended for one or two coffins is also referred to as a burial vault. In earlier times, these were built in many churches and were often—just like the actual “burial chambers”—covered with large tombstones. In this book, I have not included in my research the burial vaults located outside churches or the brick-lined chambers inside or outside churches. I have focused specifically on the “actual” vaults that are or were located within the walls of the old Frisian churches."

Time: 1:30–4:00 p.m.
Location: Tresoar (Bûterhoeke 1, Ljouwert)
Admission: free 

About the Genealogical Working Group

The Genealogysk Wurkferbân (Genealogical Working Group, established in 1946) delves into the written history of Friesland. Genealogists are engaged in the study of family lineages. They focus on the connections between these lineages and the circumstances in which they lived. They do this to deepen their own understanding, but also to assist others, such as historians, with the findings of their research.

During the winter of 2026/2027, the Genealogical Working Group organises a series of meetings:

• 28 November 2026
• 9 January 2027
• 6 February 2027
• 6 March 2027
• 3 April 2027gge soks om dêr it eigen ynsjoch mei te ferdjipjen, mar ek om oaren, bygelyks skiedkundigen, mei de útkomsten fan harren ûndersyk te skewielen.