The golden rooster on the church tower in the Dutch village of Overschild could temporarily look out over the village a little higher. The 325-tonne national monument of the Groninger Kerken Association was in fact straightened by 28 cm and then jacked up 1.5 metres. The jacking was an important milestone in the church’s reinforcement operation, part of the national reinforcement programme of ‘National Coordinator Groningen’ (NCG). This special jacking operation created space to install a new foundation floor and earthquake isolators under the building. The consistory was also temporarily lifted and structurally reinforced. After all the necessary work was done, Bresser lowered the church and consistory onto the new foundation.

After this strengthening operation, the church was restored by main contractor Bertil Sietsema and construction supervisor Holstein Restoration Architecture. This will preserve the 1880 church building for future generations and give it a new function for the area.