Day 66: Amstelkring, Our Lord in the Attic

In 1661 Jan Hartman, a wealthy merchant, bought three adjacent buildings with a special purpose in mind. The top three stories were joined to create a space for a hidden Catholic church. During much of the 17th century in Amsterdam it was officially forbidden to celebrate mass, but Protestant authorities were tolerant provided the churches weren't recognizable from the outside. That the church has survived almost entirely in its original state is remarkable and it is the only of its kind. The house was preserved as a museum in 1888 by a group of amateur historians, making it Amsterdam's oldest museum. The house itself is an excellent example of Holland's Golden Age.

view from gallery above

confessional in a closet

One of the rooms of the middle house is devoted to the Miracle of Amsterdam. On March 15 1345 the vomit of a sick man with the sacramental wafer of his last rites was thrown onto the fire. When it was discovered that it hadn't burned, it was whisked away to the Oude Kerk of Amsterdam. The wafer was discovered missing only to be rediscovered at the sick man's home. It was decided that the wafer would be venerated at the house. The house no longer exists but Amsterdam became a place of pilgrimage thereafter.