With St. Nicholas serving as its patron saint, the Oude Kerk was dedicated by the Bishop of Utrecht in 1306 and is both Amsterdam's oldest structure and parish church. It changed into a Calvinist church following the Reformation in 1578, and it still is today. It is situated in De Wallen, the primary prostitution area in Amsterdam at the moment. The Oudekerksplein is the area around the church.

An old wooden church once stood where the Oude Kerk now stands. In 1306 a chapel made of stone was erected in its stead and dedicated.

Over the course of 15 generations of Amsterdam residents, the church underwent a number of alterations. The side chapels were lengthened and built around the choir in a semicircle to maintain the structure fifty years after its initial construction. The north and south transepts were constructed at the start of the 15th century to form a cross. The construction of these alterations was finished in 1460, however it's possible that it was delayed by the city fires of 1421 and 1452.

The Oude Kerk was a Catholic church prior to the Alteratie, or Reformation, which took place in Amsterdam in 1578. The Calvinist Dutch Reformed Church took control of the church after William "The Taciturn" defeated the Spanish during the Eighty Years' War. The church was repeatedly looted and damaged throughout the conflicts that occurred in the 16th century, starting with the Beeldenstorm of 1566, when a mob destroyed most of the artwork and decorations in the church, including an altar piece with a central panel by Jan van Scorel and side panels on either side by Maarten van Heemskerck. The ceiling paintings were the only item to have survived because they were out of reach.

In the church, locals congregated to gossip, peddlers advertised their products, and beggars found refuge. The Calvinists did not accept this behaviour, and the beggars were kicked out. A bronze screen was installed around the choir in 1681. The lettering above the screen states, in reference to the Reformation of 1578, that "The wrong practises gradually crept into the church of God, were here undone in the year seventy-eight."

The marriage registry was moved to the Oude Kerk in the same year. It also served as the location for the city archives, with the most significant records being held in a chest that was covered in the city's coat of arms and was made of iron. The box was kept in a chapel made of iron.

The famed composer and organist Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck's (1562–1621) bust honours his time spent performing in this church. When he took over as organist of the Oude Kerk for his deceased father Pieter Swybertszoon at the young age of fifteen, his career was launched. There, he wrote the music for 150 psalms and established himself as a renowned Dutch composer internationally.

All of Rembrandt's children were baptised at the Oude Kerk, where he frequently visited. It is the only structure in Amsterdam that hasn't changed since Rembrandt first saw it. A memorial altar for Rembrandt's wife "Saskia" van Uylenburgh, who has been buried here since 1782, can be found at the Holy Sepulchre.

The church has a footprint of around 3300 square metres. The manmade mound that served as the foundation was probably the closest thing to solid ground in this marshy region.

The largest mediaeval wooden vault in Europe may be found on the Oude Kerk's roof. The church has one of the best acoustics in all of Europe thanks to the Estonian planks, which date back to 1390.

There are three pipe organs in the Oude Kerk, with the earliest dating to 1658 and the most recent being a 1767 cabinet organ. One of the finest baroque organs in all of Europe, the third organ was constructed in 1724 by the German Christian Vater. The churchwardens thought it was "excellent." When the organ was put back together after being disassembled in 1738 while the tower underwent renovations, Casper Müller added several upgrades to make it more potent. Due to its superior tone, it has been referred to as the Vater-Müller organ ever since.

The 12 misericords at the Oude Kerk.