Amsterdam · Netherlands

Begijnhof

HistoricReligiousgoogle verified

~45 min

easy

9/10

contemplative, peaceful, mysterious

A local would say...

Push open a medieval door in the middle of Amsterdam and find yourself in a silent medieval courtyard where a lay sisterhood lived for seven centuries — the last one died in 1971.

A surreal oasis of peace hidden behind an unassuming door in the heart of bustling Amsterdam, the Begijnhof is a medieval courtyard ringed with tiny houses and postage-stamp gardens. Once home to the Beguines — a Catholic order of lay women — the last true Beguine died here in 1971. It feels utterly disconnected from the noisy city just outside its walls.

Added by Sanne de Vries