בית חיים — אויסטערקערק

Beth Haim — the Portuguese bais hachaim of Amsterdam

Ouderkerk aan de Amstel · אויסטערקערק

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Visitor experience

Practical notes from visitors — access, directions, and the condition of the site.

How to get there

Kerkstraat 10, 1191 JB Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, Ouder-Amstel, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

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The exact grave coordinates are not confirmed yet — go by the address and ask locally. We don't publish a coordinate we haven't checked.

1.Founded in June 1614 and the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Netherlands. Ten acres and more than twenty-eight thousand kevarim, and it is still the burial ground of the Portuguese kehilla of Amsterdam.
2.It is out of the city — about ten kilometres south-east of central Amsterdam, in a village on the Amstel. Not a walk; plan it as a half day with the journey.
3.The stones are flat Sephardi ledgers, many of them carved with figures, and a good number have sunk into the peat at angles. That is the character of the place and not neglect.
4.The Esnoga in Amsterdam is the kehilla this ground belongs to, and it is already listed on this site — the two are one visit intellectually even though they are half an hour apart.
5.Opening times are set by the Portuguese kehilla and we are not printing them, because they change. Check with the community before travelling out.

Working cemetery of the Portuguese-Israelite community, open to visitors at set times rather than freely. Men cover the head. Check the current arrangements with the kehilla in Amsterdam before setting out.

U.S. State Department · Netherlands

Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Reissued after periodic review without changes. Exercise increased caution in the Netherlands due to terrorism. Country Summary: Terrorists continue plotting possible attacks in the Netherlands. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, lo…

Updated Aug 9, 2024. Read the full advisory →

Closest airports

Main airports serving Netherlands — tap for exact driving or transit time.

Amsterdam (AMS)Amsterdam Schiphol· major hub
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Who is buried here

Known kevarim

רבי מנשה בן ישראל

Rabbi Menasseh ben Israel

Who got the Jews readmitted to England

Yahrzeit: 1657

Rov, printer and diplomat in Amsterdam, and the man who went to London and argued the case to Oliver Cromwell that brought the Jews back to England after three and a half centuries of expulsion. He set up the first Hebrew press in Amsterdam, and he was a neighbour of Rembrandt, who etched him.

Verification and source

No public access contact has been verified for this cemetery yet.

Read the cemetery source →