Corrie ten Boom House

The house on the Barteljorisstraat where the Ten Boom family hid Jewish refugees during the German occupation, made famous by Corrie ten Boom's book The Hiding Place. The secret room — a tiny space behind a false wall in Corrie's bedroom, just large enough for several people to stand in — can still be seen on the guided tour. It is astonishingly small.

The tour is free but by appointment only, and run by volunteers who tell the story with care and conviction. The house is otherwise an ordinary Haarlem townhouse, which is part of the point — extraordinary courage in an ordinary setting. Located directly behind the Grote Kerk, a few steps from the Grote Markt. One of the most moving small museums in the Netherlands.

things to do museum
A story
The Ten Boom family hid an estimated 800 Jews and resistance fighters during the occupation. In February 1944 the house was raided by the Gestapo, but the six people hiding in the secret room were never found — they stayed silent behind the false wall for nearly three days until the resistance could extract them. The Ten Boom family was sent to concentration camps; Corrie's father and sister both died in captivity.

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