In 1783, the Rotterdam organ builder Andries Wolfferts began constructing an organ. He used pipework from the 1723 organ built by Matthijs Verhofstadt. Verhofstadt, in turn, had reused pipework from a predecessor, resulting in a bourdon 8′ from Mr. Peter Jansz de Swart, dating back to the late 16th century, still being part of the main organ to this day. The organ had strong qualities, such as its beautiful case, but there were also issues. It may have been too weak for the large church and the then still large congregation of churchgoers.

A.F.G. Heijneman was an organ builder from Germany but based in Nijmegen. In 1787, he renovated the organ of the St. John’s Cathedral in Den Bosch. As a result, his work became known in Zaltbommel, and in 1796, just over ten years after the organ’s construction, he was asked to carry out a major expansion. Many of the characteristic reed stops are the work of Heijneman.

Almost all old organs in the Netherlands were drastically altered in the 19th century. However, in Zaltbommel, these changes were very limited. C.F.A. Naber added the viola di gamba, and at some point, the equal temperament tuning was introduced. The modifications in 1905 were presumably more significant. For instance, the case was given a dark oak color. After the organ was hastily dismantled by civilians in 1944 — as they feared the occupying forces intended to blow up the tower — the organ was provisionally restored by organ builder De Koff, during which the pitch was raised.

After the complete restoration of the church (1978-1985), the organ was also refurbished. Organ builder S.F. Blank used the 1796 situation as the basis for the restoration but also preserved much of Naber’s work, such as the viola da gamba. The Werckmeister III temperament introduced at that time was later changed to Neidhardt I. The organ is maintained by J.C. van Rossum organ builders from Wijk en Aalburg.

Source: https://www.maartenskerk.nl/sint-maartenskerk/het-orgel