Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
The Priest's Room
Formerly the
servants' quarters, the
Priest's Room is tucked
into a corner on a bend
in the stairs. It's a tiny,
enclosed bedroom with a
box bed, simply furnish-
ed as it would have been
for the priest of the
clandestine church, who
lived in the house.
Key
7
Ground floor
First floor
Second floor
Third floor
Fourth floor
Fifth floor
6
5
8
3
4
0
2
The Clandestine
Church
At the top of the stairs,
the clandestine church
(schuilkerk)
proves a
charming and highly
unusual sight
(left)
. In
c.1735 it was remod-
elled in Baroque style,
with the addition of
two tiers of galleries,
suspended from the
roof by cast-iron rods,
to provide extra seating.
The Folding Pulpit
With space-saving in
mind, the ingenious pulpit
was designed to fold away
under the left column of
the altar when not in
use. The altar painting is
The Baptism of Christ
by
Jacob de Wit (1695-1754).
The Maria Chapel
and Peat Room
The congregation kept
warm with footwarmers
fuelled by peat stored in
this room above the Maria
chapel, which now houses
the church's silver.
The Alteration
The revolt of the
(Calvinist) Northern
Netherlands against
the (Catholic) Spanish
Habsburgs began in
1568, but Amsterdam
did not decide where its
loyalties lay until 1578,
when the city joined
William of Orange in
a peaceful revolution
known as the Alteration.
Calvinists seized power
and Amsterdam became
the Protestant capital of
an infant Dutch republic.
Catholics were no
longer allowed to
worship in public, but
Dutch tolerance ensured
that they were able to
continue in private.
The Confessional
In 1739, this living
room in the middle of
the three houses became
the church's confessional.
One of the two wooden
confessional boxes still
remains
(right)
.
The Rear Houses
The rear houses were
gradually taken over by
the church, but there are
still signs of their original
use as family rooms.
The Kitchen
Once part of the
sacristan's secret living
quarters, the charming
17th-century kitchen
(left)
has Delft wall tiles, an
open hearth, stone sink
and black-and-white floor.
For more on the Dutch Golden Age
See p27
21
