The Evangelical Lutheran Church on Railway Street was built in 1897-1898, after the little church on the Korenmarkt (former warehouse “the Bontenborch,” national monument) became too small. The September 1896 neo-Gothic-style design is by engineer A.R. FREEM (1853-1921). In addition, the sexton’s house shows influences of the neo-Renaissance. For years it was used by the Lutheran Church for its services.

However, when it became known that the church community could no longer afford the maintenance and the building would therefore be removed from its function in 2017, Arnhem entrepreneur Kreger seized her chance. The church was the place for the hospitality concept she had dreamed of for years. Moreover, she saw this cultural heritage as the ultimate stepping stone for the adjacent Fashion Quarter. With a hospitality hotspot in the former church, she wants to draw shoppers from downtown to the hip and multicultural Modekwartier. In fact, the front door of the church faces downtown and the back door faces the Fashion Quarter where designers have their studios and stores.

By the end of 2022, the hospitality entrepreneurs of the HIMplus group and Bart&Janiek are joining forces to make their dream come true and make the Lutherse kerk the hotspot of Arnhem.