The Lieve Vrouweplein

First a bit of history...Officially, Lieve Vrouweplein is actually called Het Lieve Vrouwekerkhof - but that sounds pretty heavy. That's why the locals just call it Lieve Vrouweplein. The square used to be home to the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk, complete with cemetery.

Once, then, the Chapel of Our Lady stood here, with its probable predecessor being the wooden De Sint-Joostenkapel. In the course of the 14th and 15th centuries, then, there was talk of no less than three chapels in the vicinity of the square, and in the mid-14th century there was again talk of the St. Sebastian Chapel and an associated cemetery. Unfortunately, the exact location of this has not been preserved.

Every historic city has a miracle, and so does Amersfoort. In 1444 Geertje Arends, on her way to the St. Agnes convent, threw a statue of the Virgin Mary into the canal because she thought it was ugly. Maid Margriet found the statue under the ice, after three visions that led her here. The statue was placed in the Chapel of Our Lady and soon attracted thousands of pilgrims; more than 550 miracles were attributed to it.

Thanks to the pilgrimage, the tower, probably the current Lieve Vrouwetoren, was built around 1444. Because the tower was separate from the church, it was spared when the church exploded in 1787 - a minor miracle in itself.

Just in front of the Lieve Vrouwetoren you get on the local boat train, de Keijlijn, which takes you past the highlights of Amersfoort in about an hour. With the Hop-On-Hop-Off principle, you can hop on and off anywhere along the way while the conductor tells you about the city center.

Prefer to walk? Several city walks with guides full of surprising stories start from Lieve Vrouweplein. You can book a walk atGilde Amersfoort or through the City Guides Amersfoortse Gidsen. It is also possible to do a bike tour, or follow your own route through the city.