The Oude Kerk is Amsterdam's oldest building and newest art institute. The building was founded about 1213 and consecrated in 1306 by the bishop of Utrecht with Saint Nicolas as its patron saint. After the Reformation in 1578, it became a Calvinist church, which it remains today. It stands in De Wallen, now Amsterdam's main red-light district. The square surrounding the church is the Oudekerksplein.
Oude Kerk, viewed from across the Oudezijds Voorburgwal
Wooden ceiling
Church Window, Oude Kerk
Rembrandt's marriage record on display in the church
De Wallen is the largest and best known red-light district in Amsterdam. It consists of a network of alleys containing approximately 300 one-room cabins rented by prostitutes who offer their sexual services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights and blacklight. Window prostitution is the most visible and typical kind of red-light district sex work in Amsterdam.
Crowds walking past window prostitution and other sex businesses along the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal in De Wallen
Sex worker at a door