Church history

The church collection holds some dozen collections from various Christian denominations. Religious printing has always been one of the primary focuses of the University Library and its predecessor, the Amsterdam Church Library, later City Library, which had been housed at the Nieuwe Kerk from around 1400. The fact that Amsterdam functioned as a centre for non-conformist religious printed works in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in particular has contributed to the richness of the collection. Works by freethinkers are consequently widely represented. Geographically, the emphasis is on the Amsterdam region, but some of the collections also have a Dutch or an international focus.

Extensive loans include the libraries of the Verenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente Amsterdam, the Remonstrantse Gemeente Amsterdam, the Evangelisch Luthers  Seminarium and the Begijnhof Amsterdam. The Verenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente Amsterdam continues to contribute to the growth of its library, which currently comprises over 16,000 printed works from the fifteenth century onwards and some 100 metres of manuscripts and archives.

• Library of the Verenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente Amsterdam (Mennonite Congregation Amsterdam)
• Doopsgezind Documentatiecentrum (Doopsgezind/Mennonite Documentation Centre)
• Collection of Pieter Fontein (1708-1788)
• Library of the Remonstrantse Gemeente Amsterdam (Remonstrant Congregation Amsterdam)
• Library of the Evangelisch Luthers Seminarium (Evangelical Lutheran Seminary)
• Library of the Hersteld Evangelisch Lutherse Gemeente Amsterdam (Restored Evangelical Lutheran Congregation Amsterdam)
• Library of the Begijnhof Amsterdam
• Library of the Armenian Community Amsterdam
• Catholic collection of Gerrit Schimmelpenninck Jzn. (1804-1881)
• Bibles from the 15th century onwards
• Religious songbooks, especially from the Netherlands

• Prints, manuscripts and archives

   

The Library of the Verenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente Amsterdam has a dedicated room with reference works.

The printed works in all these collections can be accessed through the online Catalogue. The Doopsgezinde Bibliotheek can be accessed via this link. Work is currently underway to make the manuscripts, the as yet undescribed archives, prints and photos available through the online Catalogue and ArchivesSpace. The manuscripts are currently accessible through printed catalogues in the research room and files that can be requested from the curators.

• Gwendolyn Verbraak
  Curator of church history and esotericism
  Send an e-mail: g.m.verbraak@uva.nl 
  UvA profile: To the UvA staff page