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Vondelkerk Tower Collapses as New Year’s Fire Guts Landmark Amsterdam Church

The cause remains unconfirmed, with investigators expected to assess the gutted monument after firefighters secure the scene.

Overview

  • The fire ignited around 1 a.m. local time in the tower of the 19th-century Vondelkerk and burned through the roof before the spire collapsed.
  • Authorities said the main walls remain standing, reported no immediate risk of further collapse, and noted no injuries.
  • Dozens of nearby homes were cleared as a precaution, with residents housed temporarily in a yoga studio and power cut to about 90 addresses.
  • Officials have not identified a cause, with neighbors reporting fireworks near the tower and the fire service declining to confirm that account.
  • Amsterdam’s mayor Femke Halsema mourned the loss of a neighborhood landmark, while national reports detailed two fireworks deaths and attacks on emergency workers overnight.