The Church
The church has always been the spiritual centre of the original farming village. The circumstances are not the same anymore and the population has changed dramatically, but the church is still the nerve centre and meeting place of Ruigoord. In and around the church the cultural activities of the village are presented. In the almost 50-year history of the church as the spiritual centre of the cultural free port, a lot has happened in and around that building. It was (and is) an exhibition space, auditorium, concert hall, polling station, party room, wedding and mourning location, workshop, cafĂ©/restaurant, meeting room, laboratory, and a hotbed for all kinds of Ruigoord activities and events. The building, which dates to around 1880, has weathered many storms and is now in need of some refurbishment. In the year 2021 a start was made with the restoration of the brickwork and other conservation work, so that Ruigoord’s most striking building can at least last until the current Ruigoord turns 100 in 2073.