Museum Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder
(Our Lord in the Attic)

→ a hidden Catholic church tucked away in the attic of a 17th century merchant house.

Museum Our Lord in the Attic is Amsterdam's second oldest museum. And possibly the most surprising one: a 17th-century canal house with a church in the attic.

A secret church

During the Reformation, in 1661, a merchant Jan Hartman bought three adjacent buildings. He and his family lived on the ground floor on the canal-side house. The loft he converted into a church: a secret church.

Catholic masses were officially forbidden in the 17th century (from 1578), but the protestant governors of Amsterdam turned a blind eye, provided the churches were not recognisable on the outside.

An important feature of the church is the organ, opposite the altar. It was built by Hendrik Meyer in 1794 especially for the church and is still regularly played.

Delve through the narrow passageways, stairways and tiny nooks to uncover splendid works of art, ornate furniture and an atmosphere that will whisk you back in time.