In the first centuries after the Reformation, the public display of Roman Catholic services and accessories was not tolerated – officially forbidden in 1660 – in Amsterdam. So in 1641 the Franciscans opened a house church, the second of its kind in the city, at a house called the 'Moyses' (Moses), at the back of the present church. In 1682, the house was joined by the neighboring house 'Aäron' (Aaron) with the purchase by Dr. Johannes de Vroom, a physician from Breda.
The present building was built between 1837 and 1841 from a design by Tilman-François Suys (1783-1861) in the style of neoclassicism, with three aisles and a recessed rectangular choir. The facade, with its twin towers, was said to be inspired by the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris and Santissima Trinità dei Monti in Rome.
The baroque altar, dating from about 1700, came from the original church with a painting 'The Resurrection of Jesus' by Jacob de Wit (1695–1754). On the walls are the reliefs of the fourteen Stations of the Cross, made by a Flemish sculptor, Petrus Elysens van den Bossche (1841–1921).
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.