At the west end of the Voorstraat, in the Grote Kerkbuurt, is the Grote Kerk or Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady). Legend has it that a chapel was built here about 1300 by St Sura, a saint much loved by the townspeople who was killed by the builders of the chapel out of greed for money, but rose from the dead. A new church was built in the 14th century, and after the great fire of 1457 was given its present form, in Brabantine Gothic style, between 1460 and 1502. As a result of a fault in construction the tower began to sink, and was completed only to a height of 70m/230ft.
Later it was topped by four Baroque clock faces. A carillon of 49 bells was installed in 1949. The Grote Kerk is the only church in Holland with stone vaulting and one of the largest churches in the country, with a length of 108m/3,54ft and a height of 24m/79ft. The beautiful interior has 56 columns with cabbage-leaf capitals. From the tower there is a beautiful panoramic view of the town and the Oude Maas.
Round the choir are 12 chapels. In the Jerusalem Chapel at the east end are three stained glass windows depicting important events in the history of the town: on the left the St Elizabeth's Day flood of 1421, in the center the great fire of 1457 and on the right the surprise attack by English troops led by Jan van Egmond in 1480.
The windows in the south transept also have beautiful stained glass on historical themes, reflecting the important role played by Dordrecht in the history of the Netherlands. The figures of two Sea Beggars recall the liberation of the town from Spanish rule in 1572, and there are also representatives of the Dordrecht Synod. The chapels on the south side of the nave were built at the expense of the town's guilds (the cloth-dealers, the merchants, the bakers, the fur-dealers, the dyers).
Also of note is the large organ, built in 1671 by Nicolaas Hagen of Antwerp. The organ-case is decorated with the coats of arms of Dordrecht and of former burgomasters. On the magnificent pulpit (1765) are scenes from the life of Christ.
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