Spotlighted in Destination: Scientology—the weekly travel series on Scientology Network that takes viewers inside Churches around the globe—Amsterdam’s Church invites visitors to see the city through a new spiritual lens.
Just as Amsterdam was built by reclaiming land from the sea, the Church helps individuals reclaim something even more precious: themselves.
In Destination: Scientology, Amsterdam, the city’s centuries-old reputation as a bastion of free thought gets a 21st-century sequel: a spiritual and cultural center located along Wibautstraat—dubbed “Knowledge Mile”—that’s as rooted in Dutch innovation as the canals beneath its dancing houses.
The episode charts the journey from a dream to a stunningly restored Church. Positioned within eyeshot of the tallest building in the city, known as Rembrandt’s glass-and-steel namesake, the Church is led by local Scientologists who pedaled through town in search of the perfect new home for their flourishing congregation. What they created is more than a landmark—it’s “a safe haven,” in the words of Scientologist Eva van Nunen, echoing Amsterdam’s beloved nickname: Mokum.
And just as Amsterdam was built by reclaiming land from the sea, the Church helps individuals reclaim something even more precious: themselves. Figure skating champion Niki Wories speaks movingly of how Scientology pulled her back from despair and propelled her toward greatness.
Beneath the grace of her performances lay mounting struggles that nearly broke her. It was Scientology, she says simply, that “saved my life.” Through courses like Overcoming Ups & Downs in Life, she found clarity, resilience and the power to regain control. The result? A return to the world stage—and to herself.
Visitors—students, faith leaders, lifelong locals—come for the architecture but stay for the insight. “Scientology is knowing how to know,” says Hein Kleinveld. And in a city built on ingenuity, that kind of knowledge fits right in.
Watch the full episode here and take the scenic route through a city—and a spirit—that never stops dreaming.
