Amsterdam's reputation for tolerance is old, but it was never simple. In the seventeenth century the city allowed people of different faiths to live and trade here — on the condition that some of them worshipped out of sight. The result was the schuilkerk, or clandestine church: a place of worship hidden inside an ordinary house or warehouse.
Several of these hidden churches survive. One of them, in the attic of a canal house in the oldest part of the city, is among the most remarkable small museums in Europe.
Why Amsterdam hid its churches
In 1578, during the Dutch Revolt, Amsterdam's Catholic city government was replaced and the city joined the Protestant side. This event is known as the Alteration. The Reformed (Calvinist) Church became the public church, and the city's medieval churches, including the Oude Kerk and Nieuwe Kerk, were taken over for Protestant worship.
Public Catholic services were banned. But the Dutch Republic protected freedom of conscience: people could not generally be prosecuted for what they believed in private. In practice, city authorities often tolerated Catholic, Lutheran, Mennonite, and other congregations meeting in buildings that did not look like churches from the street. Historians note that such congregations sometimes paid officials to look the other way.
So Amsterdam ended up with a double landscape: large Protestant churches in public, and dozens of hidden churches behind house fronts.
Our Lord in the Attic (Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder)
On the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, in the middle of what is now the Red Light District, stands a seventeenth-century canal house that looks like its neighbours. In the 1660s its owner, the merchant Jan Hartman, had a Catholic church built across the top floors of this house and the two houses behind it.
Inside, a narrow staircase takes you up through the family's living rooms and kitchen to a full church with galleries, an altar, and an organ — able to hold a large congregation, all invisible from the street. It is now the Museum Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder, and it is one of the best-preserved hidden churches anywhere.
It is also a good reminder of how layered this part of the city is. Our article on the Red Light District's history and changing rules covers the neighbourhood around it.
The Begijnhofkapel
In the Begijnhof, the Catholic beguines lost their medieval chapel after 1578; it became the English Reformed Church. In 1671 they built a new, hidden chapel inside two houses on the opposite side of the courtyard. From the outside it still looks like part of the row of houses. It remains an active Catholic chapel.
Other hidden churches in Amsterdam
- De Krijtberg (Singel) — the current neo-Gothic church, completed in the 1880s, replaced a Jesuit hidden church that had operated in houses on the same site.
- The Mennonite Singelkerk (Singel) — the Mennonite congregation's church sits behind a house front on the Singel, a legacy of the same period.
Tolerance and its limits
It is tempting to tell this story as proof that Golden Age Amsterdam was simply open-minded. The reality was more practical. Tolerance was good for trade: merchants from many backgrounds brought capital and contacts, and the city had little to gain by driving them away. At the same time, non-Reformed Christians were excluded from many public offices, and hiding their worship was the price of staying.
The Sephardic Jewish community is an interesting contrast. The Portuguese Synagogue, inaugurated in 1675, was built as a large, clearly visible building — something that would have been very unusual in most European cities at the time. You can visit it today as part of the Jewish Cultural Quarter.
Our guide to the Dutch Golden Age in Amsterdam explains how migration and tolerance fed the city's growth.
Visiting tips
- Our Lord in the Attic involves steep, narrow stairs. Visitors with limited mobility should check access with the museum in advance.
- The museum is a short walk from the Oude Kerk and Nieuwmarkt, so it fits easily into a morning in the medieval centre.
- Hidden churches are ideal on rainy days — see our rainy day itinerary.
Our Golden Age City Center tour visits the Begijnhof and explains how these hidden churches worked. On a private departure, your host can shape the route to include Our Lord in the Attic.
Frequently asked questions
What is a schuilkerk?
A schuilkerk (hidden or clandestine church) is a place of worship built inside an ordinary-looking house or warehouse, so it could not be recognised from the street. They were common in the Dutch Republic after the Reformation.
Is Our Lord in the Attic worth visiting?
Yes, especially if you are interested in the Golden Age. It combines a preserved seventeenth-century house with a complete hidden church, and it takes about an hour.
Where is Our Lord in the Attic?
On the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, a short walk from Centraal Station and the Oude Kerk.