1 Amsterdams Historisch Museum
2 Anne Frankhuis
3 Begijnhof
4 Koninklijk Paleis (Royal Palace)
5 Leidseplein
6 Red Light District
7 Rijksmuseum
8 Van Gogh Museum
9 Vondelpark
10 Westerkerk
Westerkerk is one of four great churches in the city that symbolise Calvinism's triumph over Catholicism, as well as Amsterdam's Golden Age.
Unlike some historic Amsterdam churches, the grand Dutch Renaissance West Church is still in use for services. Its vast, plainly decorated nave, with wooden barrel vaulting and 12 chandeliers, is Holland's largest. The Hemony organ from 1687 has decorative panels painted by Gerard de Lairesse. Rembrandt and his son Titus are buried here in unknown graves; a memorial to the artist, attached to a pillar in 1906, was copied from a memorial stone visible in The Night Watch.
Work on the church began in 1620 under architect Hendrick de Keyser. When he died the following year, his son Pieter took over, and the church opened in 1631. Renovation work between 1985 and 1990 removed centuries of grime, restoring the brick and stone to their original colour. In summer you can climb the 85m bell tower that was completed in 1638 - the city's tallest, popularly called `Lange Jan' (Tall John). A spectacular view of the canal-threaded city centre and the Jordaan is your reward. A gold, red and blue Habsburg imperial crown caps the tower, an emblem that in 1489 Maximilian of Austria gave Amsterdam the right to bear on its coat of arms. Listening to the church bells consoled Anne Frank while she hid from the Nazis, and they ring out in an hour-long carillon concert every Tuesday at noon. The church's coach house, at Prinsengracht 277, is now the Rum Runners Caribbean restaurant; and the house where French philosopher René Descartes lived from 1629 till 1635, while writing his Treatise on the Passions of the Soul, is at Westermarkt 6.Address: Prinsengracht 281
Phone: 624 7766 (tower: 612 6856
Open: Church: Mon-Sat 11-5, Sun 1-5; tower: Jun- mid-Sep Wed-Sat 10-4
Bus: 13, 14, 17, 20
Boat: Museum Boat stop 2
Accessible: Few
Admission: Church free; tower cheap
Other: Anne Frankhuis
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