The Agnietenkapel (Chapel of the Convent of Saint Agnes) is a 15th-century

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

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 ...

. It is the birthplace of the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

and still in use for doctoral dissertations and other university ceremonies, as well as academic events such as lectures and symposiums."Agnietenkapel", University of Amsterdam
(archived) The building has held '' rijksmonument'' status since 1970. "Rijksmonument 6089", Rijksmonumentenregister
(Dutch)

History

Convent chapel

The chapel is located on the southern half of

Oudezijds Voorburgwal The Oudezijds Voorburgwal, often abbreviated to OZ Voorburgwal, is a street and canal in De Wallen in the center of Amsterdam. The OZ Voorburgwal runs from the Grimburgwal in the south to the Zeedijk in the north, where it changes into the Oud ...

canal, the so-called ''stille zijde'' ("quiet side"). In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

this area was dominated by some 20

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

s. The chapel was built in 1470 to replace an earlier chapel which burned down in the great fire of 1452. It was part of the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

''Agnietenklooster'', a convent dedicated to Saint Agnes.

Athenaeum Illustre

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 ...

'' in 1578, when the Catholic city government was deposed in favor of a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

one, all monasteries and convents were closed and most were demolished. The Chapel of the Convent of Saint Agnes was one of the few Catholic buildings spared and given a new purpose. From 1631 the chapel was used as an institution of higher learning, the Athenaeum Illustre. The Athenaeum Illustre served as an intermediate stage between

Latin school The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...

and the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. It did not award academic degrees, as each

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

was allowed only one university, and

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

already had a university at

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

Gerardus Vossius Gerrit Janszoon Vos (March or April 1577, Heidelberg – 19 March 1649, Amsterdam), often known by his Latin name Gerardus Vossius, was a Dutch classical scholar and theologian. Life He was the son of Johannes (Jan) Vos, a Protestant from the Ne ...

and Caspar Barlaeus held their inaugural lectures as professors of the Athenaeum Illustre on 8 and 9 January 1632, respectively. Every morning from 9 to 11 o' clock, the professors gave public lectures in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

in the large

lecture hall A lecture hall (or lecture theatre) is a large room used for instruction, typically at a college or university. Unlike a traditional classroom with a capacity normally between one and fifty, the capacity of lecture halls is usually measured i ...

on the first floor - the oldest lecture hall of Amsterdam. The ground floor of the former chapel was used as an arsenal of the

Admiralty of Amsterdam The Admiralty of Amsterdam was the largest of the five Dutch admiralties at the time of the Dutch Republic. The administration of the various admiralties was strongly influenced by provincial interests. The territory for which Amsterdam ...

until the construction of

's Lands Zeemagazijn s Lands Zeemagazijn ("National Sea Arsenal") is a 17th-century building in the Oosterdok near Kattenburgerplein in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which served as arsenal of the Admiralty of Amsterdam. Designed by Daniël Stalpaert and constru ...

(now the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unite ...

) in 1656. In the chapel attic, a ''stadsboekerij'' ("city bookery") was opened in 1632, the predecessor of the current

Amsterdam University Library Amsterdam University Library is the library of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Academic Medical Centre (AMC). The central complex of the Library is in the town centre at Singel, close to Heiligeweg and Koningsplein. The Library's Spe ...

. In the 19th century, the library had grown so large - and the building had become so derelict - that the library was moved to a different location. When the Athenaeum Illustre outgrew the chapel, it moved in 1864 to the Handboogdoelen on the

Singel The Singel is one of the canals of Amsterdam. The Singel encircled Amsterdam in the Middle Ages, serving as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ bay, near the Central Statio ...

canal, a former shooting range of the Amsterdam ''

schutterij Schutterij () refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces w ...

'' (civic guard).

University museum

Until 1919, the chapel housed a primary school. In 1921, the chapel underwent renovation. At that time, the gate of the former ''Stadstimmertuin'' ("city carpenters' workshop") on Nieuwe Doelenstraat was placed in front of the chapel. After the 1921 renovation, the chapel was repurposed by the university as a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

. Following the restorations in 2004-2007 the museum was closed and the collection became part of the Amsterdam University Library.

Restoration

During restoration and renovation in 2004–2007, the painted ceiling of the first-floor lecture hall by was restored to its original state, as were Bogtman's stained-glass windows. Additionally, the alleys on each side of the chapel were covered with glass and incorporated into the building. An elevator and other facilities were added to the adjacent Purperhoedenveem building. The chapel was officially reopened on 20 February 2007 by then-mayor

Job Cohen Marius Job Cohen (; born 18 October 1947) is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and Leader of the Labour Party (PvdA) from 2010 to 2012. Cohen studied Law at the University of Groningen obt ...

Gallery

File:Agnietenkapel-gate.jpg, The chapel gate File:Agnietenkapel_stained-glass_windows.jpg, The stained-glass windows File:Agnietenkapel_back.jpg, Back facade of the chapel on

Oudezijds Achterburgwal The Oudezijds Achterburgwal, often abbreviated to ''OZ Achterburgwal'', is a street and canal in De Wallen, the red light district in the center of Amsterdam. Location and characteristics Just like the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, the OZ Achterburgwa ...

canal File:Agnietenkapel (Amsterdam).jpg, The chapel during the restorations in 2004-2007 File:Agnietenkapel Amsterdam 001.jpg, The chapel and associated convent depicted on a 1544 map. File:Interieur deel van een grafzerk - Amsterdam - 20325741 - RCE.jpg, Part of a gravestone. The photo dates from 1919.

Sources

"Agnietenkapel , ARCAM"
(archived)
"Agnietenkapel - Gemeente Amsterdam"
(Dutch) (archived)

(Dutch) (archived)

(Dutch) (archived)

References

External links

* {{University of Amsterdam Churches in Amsterdam Chapels in the Netherlands Former churches in the Netherlands Gothic architecture in the Netherlands Roman Catholic churches completed in 1470 University of Amsterdam Rijksmonuments in Amsterdam 15th-century churches in the Netherlands