Special Edition: The Miraculous Tales Told by Amsterdam's Walls

Walking through the streets of Amsterdam on a city history tour, one of the most striking features was the mysterious reliefs adorning the walls. Embedded in brick buildings, these decorations once served as markers or fragments of stories and legends.

🕊 Stone Tablets and Sculptures Depicting Miraculous Legends

The stone tablet in the ninth photo commemorates a "miracle recorded in Amsterdam's history." In the 14th century, a man who couldn't swallow the Eucharist (the bread of Christ) threw it into the fire, but it remained unburned, becoming an object of faith as "God's miracle." This "Miracle of Amsterdam" is memorialized in stone tablets scattered throughout the city.

Meanwhile, the relief in the third photo bears an inscription: "We grow, face hardships, and hear the laments of our fathers," as if the walls themselves narrate past events and faith.

📖 What is Amsterdam's City History?

"Amsterdam's City History" refers to efforts to record and pass down the history of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, from its founding to the present day. Traces of this history are preserved in various forms, including literature, architecture, stone tablets, and wall reliefs throughout the city.

From the Middle Ages to modern times, Amsterdam developed as a hub of commerce, religion, art, and politics. Walking through the city reveals "traces" of this rich history everywhere.

🕊 "The Miracle of Amsterdam (Mirakel van Amsterdam)"

The stone tablet you photographed likely depicts the "Miracle of Amsterdam," one of the most famous religious episodes in the city's history.

🗓 Happened in 1345

A man on his deathbed received his final Eucharist (Host: bread symbolizing the body of Christ) but immediately vomited it back up. When the Eucharist was reverently burned, it remained unscathed in the fire.

This miracle became widely known, turning Amsterdam into a significant pilgrimage site. Since then, the "Silent Procession of the Eucharistic Miracle (Stille Omgang)" has been held annually to commemorate this event.

🧱 The Role of Wall Reliefs and Stone Tablets

In medieval to modern Amsterdam, when houses lacked street numbers, "Gable Stones" served as decorations to represent residents' professions, faiths, or family legends.

Stone tablets and wall sculptures, like those in the photos, are part of this cultural tradition. Each carries stories, lessons, and memories, making them "walls that narrate city history."

💡 Additional Information:

These historical reliefs and stone tablets are locally known as "Gevelstenen" and over 3,000 of them remain in the city today. They are documented and preserved by historical conservation groups.