Being a Tourist...

I have been slowly getting out and about, to see some of the landmarks in and around Amsterdam. I have visited the Ryksmuseum, the Anne Frank Huis (this is a tug at the heartstings place- I just will never understand how innocent people can be persecuted for who they are, having different beliefs, etc. I don't understand the cruelty of people), and our Lord in the Attic church.

The Ryksmuseum has many famous paintings, including The Night Watch, by Rembrandt van Rijn painted in 1642.  I took a small tour in English, which always helps in explaining why things are highly regarded (I am no art aficionado!).

Anne Frank House- Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who had to go into hiding during the Second World War to avoid the Nazi's. She and her family, along with another family hid in what is now called the Secret Annex above her Father's warehouse for 2 years, until turned in by an unknown person(s) to the Nazi regime. I had been waiting to go to see her "home" and learn more about what she and the others in hiding had to endure during their two years. It is a powerful place, and she was an amazing and articulate young woman.

Our Lord in the Attic- Catholic Mass was outlawed in Amsterdam shortly after the "Alteration" of 1578, which transferred the city into Protestant hands. However, Protestant authorities tended to be tolerant of private Catholic worship as long as it was kept hidden from public view.

In 1661, a wealthy Catholic merchant named Jan Hartman bought a stately canal house and two houses behind it. A devout man whose son was studying for the priesthood, Hartman included a fine Catholic chapel in his new property. The rest of the houses were used as living space for his family, reception of guests, and storage.

The hidden church occupied the entire top floor of the canal house and the two houses behind it. Lavishly appointed, it would serve as the parish church for Catholics living in the city center for 200 years.

The church was then referred to as "the Hart," after the statue of a stag that hung outside, presumably inspired by the host's name. It was dedicated to St. Nicholas, taking over the patronage stripped from the Oude Kerk at the Alteration.

This Church was really neat to see- from the outside, it looked like a regular canal house!