When Churches Change Their Purpose: A Guide’s Perspective on Amsterdam’s Reimagined Sacred Spaces

Apr 1
4 min read

Updated: Apr 2

One of the topics that sparks the strongest reactions during my tours in Amsterdam is what happens to churches when their original function fades — not because they disappear, but because they change.

A personal starting point

I grew up in a very religious Orthodox Christian community and spent the first 21 years of my life deeply immersed in church life. So when I arrived in the Netherlands, what I encountered here felt like a revelation.

Churches turned into gyms. Hotels. Concert halls. Dance floors.

Yet I never experienced this as something negative. It was simply different — and I loved discovering, and later sharing with my guests, that different can work too.

A moment from guiding

Once, I took two guests from Russia to Bunk Hotel in Amsterdam Noord (https://wearebunk.com/amsterdam/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20491375641) , a former church repurposed into a hotel and art space. Even with an explanation beforehand, they were overwhelmed. Walking into what used to be a sacred space — especially near the former altar — gave them very mixed feelings.

I understood them completely. Repurposing a church is not a universal way of dealing with a sacred building. For many cultures, it feels provocative.

But this is Amsterdam’s recipe — and here, it works.

My Amsterdam Noord tour

Cultural contrast — experienced firsthand

After four years in the Netherlands, I traveled to Trondheim, Norway, where two young missionaries invited me to a church ceremony.

I told them — quite casually — that I come from a place where a church is preparing to open its first public swimming pool in 2027 (https://www.mvrdv.com/news/4679/mvrdv-and-zecc-to-transform-vacant-church-into-public-swimming-pool-in-heerlen-the-netherlands), so I usually go to churches not for prayer, but for a stretch (or potentially a swim).

It took them some time to process what I said, and for me their reaction was quite revealing. The Netherlands can feel extreme from the outside.

Why does this mostly happen to churches?

The community in the Netherlands has become less religious, and as a result fewer people visit churches as places of faith. At the same time, churches still need to pay taxes, restore and maintain their buildings, and stay connected to the outside world — in other words, continue serving the community. To do that, many of them have to repurpose.

But it’s not only churches. Before WWII, there were many more synagogues in the Netherlands. After the Holocaust and demographic shifts, quite a few synagogue buildings were repurposed — into churches, mosques, housing, or cultural spaces.

Most mosques, by contrast, were created by repurposing other buildings in the first place. The Muslim community arrived and expanded mainly after World War II, through the guest worker movement and migration following the independence of Indonesia and Suriname, former Dutch colonies.

The very Dutch explanation: land, money, and relevance

In the Netherlands, churches pay taxes. In Amsterdam, they also pay erfpacht (https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/housing/ground-lease/) — a ground lease fee — to the municipality, which has owned most of the city’s land since the 1920s.

If religious use alone doesn’t cover the costs, the function is questioned. The city encourages mixed-use solutions, supported by organizations like Stad Herstel (https://stadsherstel.nl/en/home/), which helps historic buildings redesign their use through 24/7 concepts: workspaces by day, events in the evening, and sometimes housing or hotels at night.

This approach also appears in Anna Urikh’s documentary work, where churches are shown as living urban structures rather than frozen monuments.

What does this tell us about the Dutch?

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Amsterdam is home to 174 nationalities. Strikingly, 59% of the population has a migrant background, meaning that at least one parent was born abroad. In such a diverse city, religion alone often doesn’t unite people as effectively as shared activities — music, sports, workspaces, or events. https://onderzoek.amsterdam.nl/artikel/bevolking-in-cijfers-2024

At its core, the church still plays the same role of creating a sense of belonging. I love seeing how a space that once united people around faith continues to bring people together in a new form.

Why this matters

Amsterdam has found a way to generate income while preserving historic appearance and engaging the community creatively. No matter what confession you belong to — or if you belong to none — you can still benefit from these spaces and help preserve something timeless.