"The hidden church Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder is an authentic and special monument," the council says of the originally 17th-century hidden church. European history has produced more hidden places of worship that together tell a story of freedom of religion and conscience. The council hopes that through cooperation between the historical hidden sanctuaries, a network can be formed to visualise this history in Europe. The project 'Voices of Tolerance', which challenges young people to think about the meaning of freedom, is a great example of this.
The European Heritage Label is a recognition granted by the European Union to cultural heritage that plays an important role in European history, culture and integration. The label is managed by the European Commission. Anno 2022, there are 60 heritage sites on the list, including four in the Netherlands. Other Dutch EEL holders include: the Peace Palace (since 2013), Kamp Westerbork (since 2013), The Maastricht Treaty (since 2017) and the transnational site Koloniën van Weldadigheid (also Belgium, since 2020).
Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder is an Amsterdam hidden church founded in 1663 as such for the Roman Catholic faith community. Its founder was Jan Hartman, who fled to Amsterdam from Germany. In 1739, the hidden church was rebuilt into the present, beautiful gallery church. The altar, with an altarpiece by painter Jacob de Wit, is a showpiece. A new entrance building, which welcomes visitors and also hosts exhibitions, was opened next to the historic residence in 2015. The monument is open seven days a week and is projected to be visited by 55,000 - 60,000 visitors by 2022, two-thirds of them from European countries.
The opinion was prepared by an expert committee consisting of Antoaneta Dimitrova, Tamara van Kessel, Riemer Knoop (chair), Mathieu Segers and Klazien Brummel (secretary).
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