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With its eight pairs of bellows, magnificent oak-encased pipework, marbled wood statues and gilded carving, the great organ is a glorious sight. Built by Christian Vater in 1724 and renovated by Johann Caspar Müller 14 years later, it is known as the Vater-Müller organ.

The most stunning stained glass is in the three windows of the Lady Chapel. All date from the 16th century; two show scenes from the Virgin’s life, above the customary picture of the family who donated the window.

The massive wooden vaulted ceiling is claimed to be the largest in Western Europe, but it was only during restoration work in 1955 that the beautiful 15th-century paintings were revealed.

Among the great and the good buried here is Saskia van Uylenburgh, Rembrandt’s first wife, who died in 1642. Her grave is number 29K in the Weitkopers Kapel.

Rembrandt passed through this door to announce his marriage. “Marry in haste, repent at leisure” is inscribed above it.

Relics of the period before 1578, these pillars once supported niches for statues of the Apostles destroyed in the Iconoclasm, and were painted to look like brocade, since the real thing was too expensive, and unsuited to the humid atmosphere.

The 15th-century misericords helped choristers take the weight off their feet. They are decorated with charming carvings illustrating traditional Dutch proverbs.

From the graceful late-Gothic spire, built by Joost Bilhamer in 1565, there are splendid views over the Oude Zijde. The tower contains a 47-bell carillon, a 17th-century addition which rings out every Saturday afternoon.

The colourful stained glass windows flanking the chancel depict the arms of the city burgomasters from 1578 to 1807. One was designed by De Angeli in 1758; the other by Pieter Jansz in 1654.

Attractively painted shutters form the original casing (1658) – however, the pipework was replaced in 1965. Tuned as it would have been before 1700, early music can now be part of the repertoire.