Nederland - Amsterdam, Begijnhofkapel

The beguines had as early as 1397 their own little chapel in the Begijnhof. After the enlargement of the beguinage a new larger chapel was consecrated. The beguines themselves paid for the restoration of their church after it was damaged during fires in 1421 and 1452.

After the ‘Alteration’ (transition of the municipality to the Protestant church) of 1578 their Gothic church was confiscated for Protestant use. The English Reformed Church of Amsterdam still has its services at this location.

The Beguines went without a church for a century, worshipping in their homes in the Begijnhof. In 1671 began construction of their own Catholic chapel in two of their houses, which was authorized by the Protestant authorities, but its exterior had to be hidden from public view. So it became a ‘hidden church’. It opened for its first service in 1682.
The interior of the Begijnhofkapel still offers fine marble columns, wooden pews, stained-glass windows and paintings telling the story of the ‘Miracle of Amsterdam’, referring to a eucharistic miracle in 1345, which happened in the Kalverstraat, not far from the Begijnhof.

See for more info and pictures of the Begijnhof: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/41236800