Begijnhof Amsterdam
The Begijnhof is one of the oldest inner courts in the city of Amsterdam. A group of historic buildings, mostly private dwellings, centre on it. As the name suggests, it was originally a Béguinage. Today it is also the site of the English Reformed Church. The Begijnhof differs from the usual Amsterdam patricians' court in that this old people's home was not founded by private persons. It bore closer resemblance to a convent, although the beguines enjoyed greater freedom than nuns in a convent. While beguines took a vow of chastity, and while they considered themselves obliged to attend Holy Mass every day and pray various official prayers, they were free to leave the court at any time in order to get married. The buildings in the court are tall, characteristically Amsterdam-style town-houses, emphasising the court's relatively private character. In fact, the Begijnhof is the only court whose houses have addresses bearing the name of the court itself. Unlike most courts, the houses here do not form rows joining one dwelling with another; instead, there are 47 regular town houses, each with its individual aspect, and most of them with facades from the 17th and 18th century. However, the buildings themselves are usually of earlier date, eighteen of them still possessing a Gothic wooden framework Amsterdam Amsterdam is the capital and the largest city of The Netherlands. Its name is derived from "Amstel dam", pointing to the city's origin: a dam on the river Amstel. The city is known for its historic port, the Rijksmuseum, its red-light district (de Wallen), its liberal coffee shops, and its many canals which have led to Amsterdam being called the "Venice of the North". During the Dutch Golden Age, Amsterdam was one of the most important ports in the world, because of its innovative developments in trade. Amsterdam became the leading centre for finance and diamonds.
Size: 3400px × 5100px
Location: Begijnhof, Amsterdam, Holland
Photo credit: © Marsja Haanstra / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, 14th, aloneness, amsterdam, ancient, art, artwork, attraction, balance, begijnhof, carve, carved, carving, carvings, century, christ, christianity, church, civilization, court, culture, eu, european, figures, focus, folklore, god, goddesses, godess, gods, grass, green, head, hellenisic, hero, heroes, heroine, heroines, historic, historical, history, holland, houses, human, image, innnercourt, jesus, large, light, likeness, male, mind, netherlands, object, outdoor, outdoors, position, positions, posture, pray, praying, pure, purity, reformed, religion, religious, sculpture, selective, serenity, solitude, spiritual, spirituality, statue, statues, stillness, stone, stones, strength, strong, symbol, symbolic, tourist, tradition, traditional, tranquil, tranquility, tranquillity, travel, unspoiled, vertical, worship
