Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
kind of luxury, ostentation, and Catholic mumbo-jumbo that
drove thrifty Calvinists nuts.
Looking out the window, you can see that you're literally in
the attic. Straight across the canal is a house with an ornate gable
featuring dolphins. This street was once the city's best address.
• Back down on the lower balcony, circle around to the window just to
the right of the altar for a...
Northern View
Look north across modern junk on rooftops to the impressive dome
and twin steeples of St. Nicholas Church, near Central Station.
This is the third Amsterdam church to be dedicated to the patron
saint of seafarers and of the city. The first was the Old Church
(until 1578), then Our Lord in the Attic (1663). Finally, after the
last anti-Catholic laws were repealed (1821), St. Nicholas was built
as a symbol of the faith's revival.
When St. Nicholas Church was dedicated in 1887, Our Lord
in the Attic closed up shop. The next year, wealthy Catholics saved
it from the wrecking ball, turning it into one of Amsterdam's first
museums.
• Head back downstairs, passing through the room behind the altar with
the Lady Chapel and taking the stairs (past the offering box) down to
the...
Confessional
The confessional dates from 1740. The priest sat in the left half,
while parishioners knelt in the right to confess their sins through
a grilled window. Catholic priests have church authority to forgive
sins, while Protestants take their troubles directly to God.
(The sociologist Max Weber theorized that frequently forgiven
Catholics more easily accept the status quo, while guilt-ridden
Protestants are driven to prove their worth by making money.
Hence, northern Protestant countries—like the Netherlands—
became capitalist powerhouses, while southern Catholic countries
remained feudal and backward. Hmm.)
• Go down another flight and turn right, into the
...
Jaap Leeuwenberg Room (Room 10)
We've now left the church premises and moved to the back-house
rooms that were rented out to other families. This room's colors are
seen in countless old homes—white walls, ochre-yellow beamed
ceiling, oxblood-red landing, and black floor tiles. The simple col-
ors, lit here by a light shaft, make small rooms seem bright and
spacious.
• Some very steep stairs lead down to the...
