Begijnhof

The Begijnhof was founded in the fourteenth century for beguines - laywomen who lived in a religious community without taking full vows, a form of life that was widespread in the Low Countries and had no equivalent elsewhere - and it is one of the oldest inner courts in Amsterdam, entered from the noise of Spui through a low door into complete quiet. The last beguine died in 1971. At number 34 stands Het Houten Huys, a timber-fronted house of about 1528 and the oldest surviving house in the city; Amsterdam banned wooden facades after the fires of the fifteenth century and only two survive. There are two churches: the medieval one, given to English-speaking Protestants in 1607 and still the English Reformed Church, where the Pilgrim Fathers worshipped, and a clandestine Catholic chapel opposite, built when Catholic worship was banned but tolerated if hidden.

What you actually see

• Het Houten Huys - a timber-fronted house of about 1528, the oldest in the city.
• A beguine court - the lay religious community that occupied it until 1971.
• The English Reformed Church - the medieval chapel given to Protestants in 1607.
• A hidden Catholic chapel - built opposite when Catholic worship was banned.

When to go

All year. An hour.

Honest expectations

People live here and quiet is required - groups are discouraged and there are signs asking for silence. It closes in the evening. It is small and often full despite the rules.

Nearby

Spui and the Amsterdam Museum are at the entrance; the Royal Palace is north.