Amstelkring Museum

Museum Amstelkring is one of the most unusual museums in Amsterdam, and its main feature is a church hidden in the attic of a seventeenth-century canal house. The house stands at Oudezijds Voorburgwal 38, in the old part of the city, and it is now known as Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder, which means Our Lord in the Attic. From the street it looks like any other tall, narrow merchant's house, which was exactly the point: when the church was built, it was designed to be invisible from outside.

The story begins with the Reformation. In 1578, the city of Amsterdam went over to the Protestant side in the Dutch Revolt, and public Catholic worship was banned. Catholics were not persecuted in the way they were in some other countries, but they could not hold services in public, and they were expected to practise their faith discreetly. A wealthy Catholic merchant, Jan Hartman, bought this house and the ones behind it and, in the 1660s, converted the upper floors of three buildings into a church, with a nave, galleries and an altar, concealed behind a normal facade. Such hidden churches, called schuilkerken, were tolerated by the authorities as long as they stayed out of sight, and they are a symbol of the Dutch Republic's pragmatic approach to religious difference.

The museum lets visitors explore the whole house. The rooms at the front and below have been kept or restored to look as they did in the seventeenth century, with living quarters, a kitchen and a parlour that show the daily life of a merchant family, and they are furnished with period pieces. Then, up a steep narrow staircase, you come to the attic church, a surprising space of white walls, balconies and pews, with an altarpiece and a small organ. It is a moving experience to stand in a room built in secret for worship, and the church is still used for services on certain days. The museum opened to the public in 1888.

The house stands in the area of the Oude Kerk and the red light district, and it is close to many other sights, including the Begijnhof, the Amsterdam Museum, the Canal Belt and Dam Square. Opening hours vary by day, with later starts on Sundays and public holidays, and tickets should be checked and booked ahead on busy days.

The museum suits history lovers, those curious about religion and tolerance, and anyone who likes hidden places. Allow one to two hours, and wear comfortable shoes for the steep stairs.