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My Tour, as Grand as I Can Make It
The first thing I saw in Amsterdam was the Begijnhof. This was the residence of a group of beguines, Roman Catholic women who devoted their lives to charity and good works but differed from nuns in not taking vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
The Amsterdam community of beguines survived from the Middle Ages until the last member died in 1971. After Amsterdam became Protestant, the presence of the beguines here became an open secret: Like the other Catholics in Amsterdam, they were tolerated in practice, even if not in theory.
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