Secrets of Amsterdam
Corneeltje Arents didn’t want to get buried in the church. After all, she was a committed catholic and the church in the Begijnhof in the centre of Amsterdam, had become protestant. The story goes that her coffin was left overnight in the church prior to internment; as was the custom. The next morning it was outside, leaning against the church wall. However, against her wishes, Corneeltje was buried in the protestant church. Seven months later, in 1655, she was laid to rest where she preferred to be: in the gutter outside, close to the bleaching field, where everyone could walk over her grave. Each year, on the 2 nd of May, her grave is decorated with flowers. Cornelia lived in the Begijnhof. Begijnen were religious women, living together in communal or separate houses, often around a courtyard. Though not nuns, they were supposed to live a chaste and charitable life as long as they lived in the community. One of th...