Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder ( OLHOS ; English: Our Lord in the Attic ) is a 17th-century canal house , house church , and museum in the city center of Amsterdam , The Netherlands . The Catholic Church was built on the top three floors of the canal house during the 1660s. It is an important example of a "schuilkerk", or " clandestine church " in which Catholics and other religious dissenters from the seventeenth century Dutch Reformed Church, unable to worship in public, held services. The church has been open as a museum since 28 April 1888, and has 85,000 visitors annually.
8-452: The canal house on the 14th century canal Oudezijds Voorburgwal , currently on number 40, was built in 1630. Between 1661 and 1663 the top three floors of the house were changed into a house church . The building was renovated in the 18th and 19th centuries. After the Church of St Nicholas was opened, the house church was no longer in use as a church. On 28 April 1888 it opened its doors for
16-406: A basement and a loft and attic where trade goods could be stored. A special beam or pulley installation would be located in the attic to hoist up valuable goods, like spices , cotton , or heavier stuff like cocoa . In recent times, the pulleys are only used (albeit rarely) for moving furniture. At the back of a canal house, there will usually be a back garden that runs either halfway or to
24-489: Is located, which tells the story of the Amsterdam canal belt. If one also bought the lots behind those houses and built a carriage house and or warehouses , it was sometimes referred to as a "city palace". Warehouses were much deeper than houses, sometimes 40m. As trading and transport patterns changed, the warehouses lost their original function. After World War II many have been turned into living accommodations. Because of
32-602: The Jaap Leeuwenberg hall, and the 17th-century kitchen. The property has been listed as rijksmonument 6107. In 2024, the museum was awarded the European Heritage Label . 52°22′30″N 4°53′58″E / 52.375076°N 4.899363°E / 52.375076; 4.899363 Canal house A canal house ( Dutch : grachtenpand ) is a (usually old) house overlooking a canal . These houses are often slim, high and deep. Canal houses usually had
40-413: The back house as a hiding place. When the first owner of the house had more houses built by the same carpenter or contractor and using the same or mirrored design these are called twin or triplet houses. There are even sets of four or five identically designed houses. In those cases, the houses will be smaller than a normal house (as three houses were built on two land lot). The width of a canal house and
48-548: The depth of its garden varies a lot. (This is because the land lots in the 17th century started from 18 feet (an Amsterdam foot being 28.13 cm) but then went to 20, 22, 24 and 26 feet.) Along the canals in Amsterdam are also double wide houses, especially along the Herengracht . These mansions were built on two land plots, a back house was usually not needed. At Herengracht 386 , the museum Het Grachtenhuis (The Canal House)
56-492: The house behind. The garden would be laid out to the taste of the time and the financial position of the owner. At the bottom of the garden, there was sometimes a summerhouse where family and visitors could relax. In the second half of the 17th century, there would sometimes be built a rear extension of the building and linked by a passage to the front house. The courtyard ensured light. It could be used for many purposes, and during World War II Anne Frank and her family were using
64-502: The public as a museum, making it the second oldest museum in Amsterdam, after Rijksmuseum Amsterdam . The museum was previously named Museum Amstelkring and is now called Museum Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder (English: Museum Our Lord in the Attic). Annually, about 85,000 people visit the museum. The museum contains the front room, the between room, the hall, the church, the Lady chapel, the confessional,
#91908