• Home

The Complete Pilgrim - Religious Travel Sites

Howard Kramer's, The Complete Pilgrim, Religious Travel Site

  • AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SITES
  • CHRISTIAN SITES
  • JEWISH SITES
  • CATHOLIC SITES
  • INDIAN/HINDU SITES
  • HOLIDAY SITES
  • CASTLES
  • BATTLEFIELDS
  • MOUNTAINS
  • NATURE
  • WILDLIFE SITES
  • PHOTO GALLERIES
  • ARCHIVES
  • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

HOME & GRAVESITE OF BARUCH SPINOZA

August 13, 2014 By Howard Kramer 4 Comments

Several Locations, The Netherlands

Rijsnburg

Home of Baruch Spinoza

Baruch Spinoza is regarded by many to have been the first great Jewish intellectual of the Modern Age.  His philosophical ideas and writings were among the most important of his day, and he is credited by both Jews and non-Jews as having been a key figure of the beginning of the Enlightenment.  Ironically, his teachings also challenged established Jewish dogma of the period, and as a result Spinoza was probably the most famous person ever to have been excommunicated from Judaism.  Baruch Spinoza is regarded as a national hero of the Netherlands, and while he is technically still in a state of excommunication, modern-day Jews have come to see him in a much more positive light.  Both his former home in Rijnsburg and his gravesite in the Hague receive many visitors every year.

History

Baruch Spinoza was a Sephardic Jew whose family fled to the Netherlands from the turmoil in Iberia in the early 16th century.  Originally Marranos, Jews who mascaraded as Christians, the family settled in the Netherlands in 1615 AD where they openly reverted to Judaism.  Baruch was born in 1632 in Amsterdam, where he was given a traditional Jewish upbringing and education.  However, his intellectual and philosophical interests led him to pursue a career that lay outside of both the family business and traditional Jewish scholarship.

Spinoza took up lensmaking probably in his teen years, and pursued this as his official trade for the rest of his life.  Unofficially, his true calling was as a philosopher and writer, and it was for these that he attained both fame and notoriety among the Jews of the Netherlands.  By his early twenties his writings were already well known in Amsterdam, both among Jews and non-Jews.  However, many of the conclusions of his writings were provocative to both Judaism and Christianity.  Despite warnings from Jewish and civic leaders, Spinoza continued with his work, and at the age of twenty-four he was issued a Writ of Cherem, the Jewish equivalent of excommunication.

This apparently made little impression on Spinoza, who diligently continued to expound on his ideas.  He went to study with Franciscus van den Enden, a famous philosopher and atheist of the day, and became aquainted with other contemporary thinkers around Europe, such as Gottfried Liebniz.  His writings became famous throughout Western Europe in his day.  Despite his fame, Spinoza lived a simple existence.  Other than a short career in public life, he maintained himself on the proceeds of his lensmaking business.  As well known as he was at the time of his death, it was not yet imagined how immense the impact his ideas would have as the Age of Enlightenment dawned.

As is true with most philosophers, the main drive of Baruch Spinoza’s work was on the meaning and nature of life.  He also concerned himself with ethics, which was the topic of one of his most famous essays.  His views on the oneness of God, the universe and nature were extremely controversial at the time, and are what got him into trouble.  It is noteworthy to mention that the Cherem that he received may have simply been an attempt by Jewish leaders to appease local Christians.  Spinoza’s work is considered an integral part of Enlightenment thinking.  Well respected by his contemporaries, his ideas were influential to such disparate men as Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein.  He is highly regarded in the present-day Netherlands.

Visiting

The home where Baruch Spinoza spent much of his later life in Rijnsburg, the Netherlands is still standing and has been preserved as an historic site.  The house, which is now run as a museum, looks much the same as it did in the 17th century when the philosopher resided there.  The rooms have been restored as best as possible to reflect Spinoza’s tenancy.  Of most interest is the study, where some of Spinoza’s personal library is on display.

Because of his excommunicate status, Baruch Spinoza could not be buried in a Jewish graveyard.  He was interred instead in Nieuwe Kerk graveyard in The Hague.  His gravesite is marked by a simple white memorial stone.

The Nieuwe Kerk, or New Church, is located in the heart of the city of The Hague, approximately twenty-five miles southwest of Amsterdam.  The church graveyard where Baruch Spinoza is buried is an open site.  The Spinoza house and museum in Rijnsburg is currently closed for renovations.  No other visitor information was available at the time of this writing.  Web: www.spinozahuis.com (official website)

Other Sites

There are no other related sites.

Filed Under: Gravesite, Jewish Tagged With: Belgium/Netherlands

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

Comments

  1. Paulo Eymael says

    June 1, 2022 at 5:31 pm

    Thanks for your article, recently I became an “spinozist “, next time in AMS I’ll pay a visit to his tomb and house. Rgds!

    Reply
    • Howard Kramer says

      July 17, 2022 at 6:45 pm

      He pissed off a lot of people. He must have been doing something right!

  2. Maria Ana Beja Costa says

    May 25, 2019 at 8:27 am

    I like your article on spinosa s

    Reply
    • Howard Kramer says

      July 17, 2020 at 2:25 pm

      Thank you!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

THE COMPLETE AMERICAN PILGRIM – NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

THE COMPLETE PILGRIM

Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

Site of the Week

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

Wittenberg, Germany The … [Read More...]

Friends of TCP Spotlight

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

by Glory Ali The City of Brotherly Love offers tons to see and do and get this, it’s FREE. That’s right you heard it right it’s FREE. Click here for complete article  

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

by Mary Neuhauser President Trump recently announced his intentions to move the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel. The purpose of this article is to give you a brief overview of what this decision means and why it matters. Click here for […]

Photo of the Week

BASILICA OF ST. DENIS

Last month, I visited one of the most fascinating churches I have ever been to, the almost completely ignored Basilica of St. Denis in the northern suburbs of Paris.  Almost every French monarch is buried here, and almost nobody goes here.  Here are some pics I took:

Basilica of St. Denis

Tomb of Clovis

Tomb of Clovis

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Royal Tombs

Royal Tombs

The Crypt

The Crypt

 

 

 

 

Follow us!

Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

Return to top of page
Copyright © 2025 The Complete Pilgrim, LLC || Marietta, GA 30068 || Legal Disclaimers

Website by: Kristina McInerny, Notes From Kris, Inc.