The canals are part of Amsterdam’s charm. It’s very touristy, but we had to do a canal cruise. Then we were off to something just a little quirky and a little more us—the Our Lord in the Attic Museum.
Over the ages, people find reasons to be unkind to each other. Sometimes over religious prejudice or political differences. This story has both. Why did the wealthy Catholic merchant Jan Hartman build a Catholic church in his home? In 1663 it was forbidden to publicly practice Catholicism in Amsterdam. All Catholic Churchs had been confiscated by the King and rebranded as Protestant. However, for the most part, the government did not interfere with what went on in private homes. So, Hartman built a narrow but elaborate Catholic church in the top three levels of his canal house (including the attic). Everything is very well preserved. Even the organ is still there. Be kind. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom.
14 Comments
NPW A
4/22/2024 09:23:57 am
How did it stay preserved
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Ray
4/22/2024 10:29:48 am
It was in use until the laws changed and when the new catholic cathedral was finished it was no longer needed. Fortunately they recognized that preserving it was important. (It is the only house church that was preserved)
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NPW Group C
4/22/2024 09:25:06 am
How far did you go from doing the canal cruise?
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Diane
4/22/2024 11:00:23 am
There are about 100 km of canals in Amsterdam….we probably did less than ten. It goes for an hour but really really slow.
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Now D
4/22/2024 09:25:18 am
Was he allowed to bring other people to his church?
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Diane
4/22/2024 11:03:13 am
Yes other people attended. The government was ok with that as long as there was nothing that showed publicly.. For instance you couldn’t have a sign out front saying there was a church there.
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NPW F
4/22/2024 09:26:01 am
did you guys enjoy the organ
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Diane
4/22/2024 11:04:17 am
I enjoy organ music. It is not Rays favourite, but he doesn’t totally hate it.
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NPW E
4/22/2024 09:27:10 am
How old is the organ?
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Diane
4/22/2024 11:07:30 am
The organ would have been installed in 1663–the same time as the church.
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Tyler
4/22/2024 09:28:20 am
I should maybe know this as I have been to Amsterdam twice, but clearly my interest in engineering was less as a teenager. Was only a river there before canels and then they build the rivers? What would have been the motivation to build canels... easy travel?
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Diane
4/22/2024 11:10:29 am
My understanding is that the first canals were built for water management and defence, but as the Dutch became leaders in trade they became important for importing and exporting goods.
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NPW B
4/24/2024 09:07:36 am
What’s Rays heritage?
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Diane
4/25/2024 08:42:50 am
Ray was born and raised in India.
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AuthorRay & Diane Homewood |