Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE TOUR BEGINS
Exterior
Behind the attic windows of this narrow townhouse sits a 150-
seat, three-story church the size of a
four-lane bowling alley. Below it is
the home of the wealthy businessman
who built the church. This 17th-century
townhouse, like many in the city, also
has a back-house
(achterhuis)
that was
rented out to another family. On this
tour, we'll visit the front house, then
t he c hu rc h, t hen t he bac k-house.
Before entering, notice the emergency-
exit door in the alley. This was once the
hidden church's main entrance.
• Step inside. Buy your ticket and climb the
stairs to the first floor, where we begin touring the front house. The first
stop is a room with a big fireplace, the...
Parlor
By humble Dutch standards, this is an enormous, highly ornate
room. Here, in the largest room of the house, the family received
guests and hosted parties. The decor is the Dutch version of clas-
sical, where everything comes in symmetrical pairs—corkscrew
columns flank the fireplace, the coffered ceiling mirrors the pat-
terned black-and-white marble floor, and a fake exit door balances
the real entrance door.
Over the fireplace is the coat of arms of Jan Hartman (1619-
1668), a rich Catholic businessman who built this house for his
family and built the church for his fellow Catholics in the neigh-
borhood. The family symbol, the crouching hart (deer), became
the nickname of the church—
Het Hert.
The painting over the fireplace
(The Presentation in the Temple)
has hung here since Hartman's time and shows his taste for Italian,
Catholic, Baroque-style beauty. On the wall opposite the windows,
the family portrait is right out of the Dutch Golden Age, showing
a rich Catholic businessman and his family of four...but it's not
Hartman.
• Now ascend the small spiral staircase that leads to a room facing the
canal, called the...
Canal Room
Unlike the rather formal parlor, this was where the family just hung
out, staring out the windows or warming themselves at the stove.
The furnishings are typical of a wealthy merchant's home of the
