Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
here. In tolerant (and largely Catholic) Amsterdam, it was rare for
Catholics to actually be arrested or punished (after the Protestants'
initial anger of 1578), but they were socially unacceptable. Hartman
was a respected businessman who used his wealth and influence to
convince the city fathers to look the other way as the church was
built. Imagine the jubilation when the church opened its doors in
1663, and Catholics could finally gather together and worship in
this fine space without feeling like two-bit criminals.
The altar is flanked by classical columns and topped with an
arch featuring a stucco God the Father, a dove of the Holy Spirit,
and trumpeting angels.
he
base of the left column
—made of wood painted to look
like marble—is hollow. Inside is a
fold-out wooden pulpit that could
be pulled out for the priest to preach
from—as explained with photos on
the wall opposite.
The altarpiece painting (Jacob
de Wit's
Baptism of Jesus
) is one of
three that could be rotated with
the feast days. Step into the room
behind the altar to see the t wo
spares. In a glass case on the back
side of the altar, squint at the ship-in-a-bottle miniature home
devotionals.
• Behind the altar is a room called the
...
Lady Chapel
An altar dedicated to Our Lady—the Virgin Mary, the mother
of Christ—contains more of the images that so offended and out-
raged hard-line Protestants. See her
statue with baby Jesus and find her
symbols, the rose and crown, in the
blue damask altar cloth.
Catholics have traditionally
honored Mary, addressing prayers
to her or to other saints, asking
them to intercede with God on
their behalf. To Calvinist extrem-
ists, this was like bowing down to
a false goddess. They considered
statues of the Virgin to be among the “graven images” forbidden by
the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:4).
he
collection box
(
voor St. Pieter,
on the wall by the stair-
case down) was for donations sent to fund that most Catholic
of monuments, the pope's own church, the Basilica of St. Peter
