Looking more like a country house than a church, the pinewood Amstelkerk was erected in 1668 as a noodkerk (makeshift church) under the direction of the city architect, Daniël Stalpaert, who also designed the town hall on the Dam. The idea was that a permanent church would be built next to it, but plans for this were abandoned in the 1840s.

During the French occupation, Napoleon used the building to keep his horses. Later, in 1840, the square-shaped interior was updated with a neo-Gothic look and the addition of a pipe organ. Van Gogh heard his uncle's sermon here in 1877.

Transportation

  • tram: 4 Prinsengracht

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. De Duif

0.06 MILES

In 1796, following the French-installed government’s proclamation of religious freedom, De Duif became the Netherlands’ first Catholic church to be built…

2. Museum Van Loon

0.15 MILES

An insight into life at the top of the pile in the 19th century, Museum Van Loon is an opulent 1672 residence that was first home to painter Ferdinand Bol…

3. Reguliersgracht

0.18 MILES

Crossing Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht canals, this waterway was dug in 1658 to link the Herengracht with the canals further south. The…

4. Foam

0.19 MILES

From the outside, it looks like a grand canal house, but this is the city's most important photography gallery. Its simple, spacious galleries, some with…

5. Tassenmuseum Hendrikje

0.19 MILES

This grand 17th-century canal-house museum has a covetable collection of arm candy. More than 5000 bags can be found here, including a medieval pouch,…

6. Stadsarchief

0.23 MILES

A distinctive striped building dating from 1923, this former bank now houses 23km of shelving storing Amsterdam archives. Fascinating displays of archive…

7. Museum Willet-Holthuysen

0.25 MILES

This exquisite canal house was built in 1687 for Amsterdam mayor Jacob Hop, then remodelled in 1739. It's named after Louisa Willet-Holthuysen, who…

8. Rembrandtplein

0.26 MILES

First called Reguliersplein, then Botermarkt for the butter markets held here until the mid-19th century, this somewhat brash square now takes its name…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "the-netherlands/amsterdam/southern-canal-ring/attractions/amstelkerk/a/poi-sig/388019/1323041",
      "position": "superzone"
    }