Westerkerk - Amsterdam - Netherlands
For the next week I’ll have photos dealing in some way with Anne Frank. I visited the Anne Frank House (Achterhuis) in Amsterdam just over a month ago. I’m currently reading her diary.
Today’s photo is of Westerkerk, the church a stone’s throw from her house. The tower on this church is the highest in all of Amsterdam. They only allow six people up the tower each hour. Since I was by myself, (and most people wanting to go up were in groups or couples) I was able to go up when only five people were booked. I’ll show you some photos from the top at some point.
Westerkerk is mentioned in Anne’s diary (see quote below for one instance), as the bells could be easily heard from her home. Also, the church tower was one of the few things visible from the attic window in the “Secret Annex.”
The famous Dutch artist, Rembrandt van Rijn, was buried in Westerkerk on October 8, 1669.
The canal in the foreground is Prinsengracht (Prince’s Canal).
“Saturday, July 11, 1942
Father, Mother and Margot still can’t get used to the chiming of the Westertoren clock, which tells us the time every quarter of an hour. Not me, I liked it from the start; it sounds so reassuring, especially at night.”