This is what is written on the website of the Municipality of Amsterdam. Tolerance is often considered a hallmark of this cosmopolitan trading city. Tolerance – the willingness to accept and incorporate people from very different religious or cultural backgrounds – has acquired an almost mythical status. There is good reason, however, to question the validity of this image of Amsterdam as a tolerant city, particularly if we look at the way in which houses of worship have been established in this city in the past 350 years. Temples, churches, mosques and synagogues are all visible signs of the permanent presence of people with a certain religious belief. Precisely because these houses of worship are in the public domain and give shape to it, their status is a good indicator of the social standing of religious minorities. The construction and use of such places of worship are subject to laws and regulations, but more importantly, houses of worship have great symbolic significance. Places of worship are often targets of hatred and intolerance, as we are now witnessing once again. At the same time, the external features of houses of worship say something about the way in which religious groups would like to manifest themselves. The establishment of houses of worship in Amsterdam did not proceed without a struggle, for in general, tolerance towards religious minorities was lacking.

Amsterdam as a safe haven

In the Golden Age, the Dutch Republic was one of the richest countries in the world and a place where many immigrants wanted to try their luck. It was also a refuge for people who were persecuted elsewhere in Europe on the basis of their religious background. In the Union of Utrecht – the treaty between the different provinces drawn up in 1579 and considered to be the founding document of the Republic of the United Netherlands – freedom of religion was quite explicitly mentioned as one of the new polity's pillars. In the 16th century, thousands fled to the northern provinces of the Spanish kingdom, and it was among these refugees and dissidents that the uprising against the Spanish oppression began.