I’ve been very slow in delivering the updates I promised about Amsterdam – I also have a book I finished that I will be writing about soon. I’ve been very busy since coming back to Berlin with the last week of my language class and a lot of German writing I have to do. Which you really don’t want to read.
The ’secret’ church of Our Lord in the Attic is definetely one of the highlights of my one-day Amsterdam tour. I am saying ’secret’ because the ban on Catholicism in the Netherlands during the Reformation wasn’t actually strictly enforced. Catholic worship continued, but Catholic churches were not allowed to be built. This church was concealed within several attached houses, and three floors were collapsed into the vaulted space you can see here: this picture was taken from the first gallery.
It’s been preserved (or restored, not sure which) in fairly good condition. Beyond the historical interest of the church itself, seeing the interior of a house from the period is quite interesting in itself. Have a look at the other photos in Flickr – you can see the kitchen, one of the bedrooms, as well as some of the rooms facing the street, one of which had a great display of books ffrom the period. I highly recommend it – it doesn’t seem to get too many visitors. Even if you’re in Amsterdam just for partying, it’s right in the center of the city (cleverly concealed within the Red Light District!) and you can easily visit it during the day when you’re done nursing your hangover. No excuses people!
