diff --git a/vmime/propertySet.hpp b/vmime/propertySet.hpp
index cf01c360..bfde4729 100644
--- a/vmime/propertySet.hpp
+++ b/vmime/propertySet.hpp
@@ -41,8 +41,10 @@ namespace vmime
 
 class propertySet
 {
-protected:
+public:
 
+	/** A property holds a (name,value) pair.
+	  */
 	class property
 	{
 	public:
@@ -90,6 +92,8 @@ protected:
 		string m_value;
 	};
 
+protected:
+
 	class propertyProxy
 	{
 	public: