Nieuwezijds Kapel (Dutch - New Side's Chapel), or Heilige Stede (Dutch - holy site) or Chapel of the Heilige Stede refers to a site in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

that includes shops and a Dutch Reformed church built in 1908 on the site of a church once called the Heilige Stede, originally built in the 15th century to replace a chapel that burned in a city fire of 1452. That original chapel had been built in 1347 as a result of the

miracle of Amsterdam A ''stille omgang'' ("Silent Walk" or circumambulation) is an informal ritual that served as substitute for the Roman Catholic processions that were prohibited after the Reformation in the Netherlands in the 16th century. Best known is the ''S ...

(15 March 1345), located on the

Kalverstraat The Kalverstraat (, ) is a busy shopping street of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The street runs roughly North-South for about 750 meters, from Dam Square to Muntplein square. The Kalverstraat is the most expensive shopping stre ...

where this miracle with the eucharistic host occurred.

History

In the

beeldenstorm ''Beeldenstorm'' () in Dutch and ''Bildersturm'' in German (roughly translatable from both languages as 'attack on the images or statues') are terms used for outbreaks of destruction of religious images that occurred in Europe in the 16th centu ...

of 1566 the chapel was severely damaged, and after the

Alteratie The Alteratie (Eng: Alteration) is the name given to the change of power in Amsterdam on May 26, 1578, when the Catholic city government was deposed in favor of a Protestant one. The coup should be seen in the context of the greater Dutch Revolt t ...

, the chapel came into Protestant hands, when it was renamed the ''Nieuwezijds Chapel'' by them. The yearly procession that until then had taken place by the Catholics, was forbidden. In 1881, this tradition was reinstated as the

Stille Omgang A ''stille omgang'' ("Silent Walk" or circumambulation) is an informal ritual that served as substitute for the Roman Catholic processions that were prohibited after the Reformation in the Netherlands in the 16th century. Best known is the ''Still ...

. The building was deconstructed in 1908, after the Protestant church fathers decided to consolidate the space and sell off the surrounding land to generate income. At that period the Catholic Church was enjoying a surge in popularity and the Protestants were determined not to "give them back their church grounds". The various sections of the old church outside the part left for the modern chapel, were stripped of useful materials, to prevent them ever being used again for Catholic worship, and the ground was sold for the construction of shops, so that the Catholics could never have it back. The miracle church's function had already long been taken over by the Roman Catholic

schuilkerk A clandestine church ( nl, schuilkerk), defined by historian Benjamin J. Kaplan as a "semi-clandestine church", is a house of worship used by religious minorities whose communal worship is tolerated by those of the majority faith on condition t ...

at the Amsterdam Beguinage. Despite these measures, the site still has many parts of the old church intact, and the cultural history of the entire site is important for the city of Amsterdam. Parts of the chapel are still to be found in the Enge Kapelsteeg and on the roof of the

De Papegaai in the Kalverstraat. Rijksmonument report A few fragments of the chapel came to be on the Frankendael in the

Watergraafsmeer The Watergraafsmeer is a polder in the Netherlands. It was reclaimed in 1629. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were many buitenplaatsen in the Watergraafsmeer, though nowadays only one, Frankendael, remains. Since 1921, the Watergraafsmee ...

. On the

Rokin The Rokin is a canal and major street in the centre of Amsterdam. The street runs from Muntplein square to Dam square. The Rokin canal used to run from Muntplein square to Dam Square, but in 1936, the part between Spui square and Dam Square was ...

was erected the Mirakelkolom (miracle column), though this was disassembled and raised for the construction of the North-south line of the

Amsterdam Metro The Amsterdam Metro ( nl, Amsterdamse metro) is a rapid transit system serving Amsterdam, Netherlands, and extending to the surrounding municipalities of Diemen and Ouder-Amstel. Until 2019 it also served the municipality of Amstelveen but thi ...

. The entire site is considered a Rijksmonument, except for certain parts of the interior such as the modern organ.

References

External links

*
Website on the het Gezelschap of the Stille Omgang
*
The Miracle of Amsterdam on amsterdam.nl
*

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070311052334/http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/bol/fulltext_detail.php?id=30&zoekstring=amsterdam Amsterdam, Holy Sacrament ('Sacrament of the Miracle') {{coord, 52, 22, 05, N, 4, 53, 31, E, display=title, region:NL_type:landmark_source:nlwiki Buildings and structures completed in 1347 Churches completed in 1908 Churches in Amsterdam Chapels in the Netherlands Rijksmonuments in Amsterdam