Crazy Window

Sint Janskirk, the church of St. John, is in the charming Dutch town of Gouda. It's a very large church for such a small town. As World War II approached, most of the magnificent 16th century stained glass windows were removed and hidden in safer places. Now they are back in place, along with newer windows commissioned after the war. High up, in a less-than-prime spot, are a couple of windows like nothing I've ever seen before. They are created from fragments of older windows, too damaged to be saved intact. Faces, hands, bits of foliage or angel's wings have been reset into glowing glass mosaics. My photo shows one of the "educational displays" in the back of the church, where a small version of this type of window is on display. I look at this and see a fantastic lit-from-within crazy quilt.