Every time I walk the street of Rokin in Amsterdam, I would get fixated on this imposing column.
Just look at it! It sticks out like a sore thumbs.
You have to wonder …
đź“ŤRokin 72, Amsterdam.
The story goes way way way back to 15 March 1345. Ysbrand Dommer was gravely sick and called for a priest to administer the Last Rites. Shortly after, he vomited a Communion Host he received into a small basin. His maid then threw the contents into the flames.
The next morning, the contents of the consecrated Host were found completely intact in the ashes. Such Blessed Sacrament was retrieved, wrapped up in a linen cloth, stored in a chest and brought to the parish priest at the Oude Kerk immediately. This was a miracle! The Miracle of Amsterdam.
Yet, the miracle continued. The priest had to return to Ysbrand’s house three times to recover the Host that miraculously re-appeared there. Thus, marking the site as holy. Ysbrand Dommer’s house was turned into a chapel in 1347.
In 1452, the chapel was destroyed by a fire. Strangely, the monstrance containing the miraculous Host remained intact. A large pilgrimage chapel called the “Heilige Stede” (translation: Holy Site) was rebuilt where the house had once stood, on the Kalverstraat.
Unfortunately, during the Iconoclasm of 1566, the Host of Miracle went missing. The chapel was taken from the Catholics and passed into the hands of the Protestants. Eventually, the church building was demolished in 1908.
Fast forward to today …
This is the “Mirakelkolom” or the Miracle Column when translated. It is a remnant of the Heilige Stede chapel. The Miracle Column has been erected here on the Rokin since 1988. In anticipation of the construction of the North / South metro line, the column was removed in 2001 and temporarily stored. It was returned briefly in 2017 but had to be removed again due to foundation instability. Presently, the 8-metre tall Miracle Column has been reinforced and returned to its rightful place since in April 2018.