In 1444, Geertje Arends was on her way from Nijkerk to Amersfoort. Geertje was to enter the Sint-Agnietenklooster in Amersfoort. She did not have much with her, but what she did carry with her was a pipe-earth statue of the Virgin Mary. Before entering the convent, Geertje wanted to get rid of the statue, as she thought it was just an ugly one. Geertje Arends threw the statuette into Amersfoort's moat and entered the Klooster...
A few days later, the figurine was found by a maid, she saw the figurine lying under the ice. It was winter and almost Christmas. The maid had had three visions telling her to go to the place where she had now found the figurine. The maid took the figurine home. Arriving home, she gave the figurine a nice spot and lit a candle by it. The candle burned three times as long as all the other candles. The maid had to tell this story, took the statue and went to the confessor. Here she left the statue and the confessor placed it in the Chapel of Our Lady.
After the discovery of this statue, thousands of pilgrims came to Amersfoort and the city became the most important pilgrimage site above the rivers. Over the century, several miracles were attributed to the figurine. A few years after the find, around the year 1460, the Church of Our Lady was built for this miracle. This church was decania later destroyed by an explosion. What was spared was the Tower of Our Lady This tower defines the cityscape of Amersfoort to this day!
As well as being a place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, Amersfoort was one of the Netherlands’ most important beer-producing towns in the late Middle Ages!
The miracle and the beer are beautifully combined at Brouwerij 't Mirakel. Brouwerij 't Mirakel is a local brewery that is reviving Amersfoort’s tradition of beer brewing.
