The Hofje van Staats is a

hofje {{inline refs needed, date=May 2012 A hofje (diminutive of 'hof', 'court') is a Dutch word for a courtyard with almshouses around it. Hofjes have existed since the Middle Ages. A hofje provided housing for elderly people (mostly women). T ...

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, on the Jansweg 39, close to the

Haarlem railway station Haarlem railway station is located in Haarlem in North Holland, Netherlands. The station opened at September 20, 1839, on the Amsterdam–Rotterdam railway, the first railway line in the Netherlands. The station building itself is a ''rijksmonume ...

History of the complex

Haarlem-Regentenkamer-Hofe van Noblet-portretten

It was built from July 29, 1730, to 1733 from the legacy of the Haarlem thread-seller Ysbrand Staats. He left his entire legacy to the poor, and his brother took charge of building this hofje after he died. The first hofje to be built in the 18th century, the executors visited

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...

under the leadership of architect Abraham Kleijn, to visit the "new style hofje" Wildemans. In former times hofjes were built in the back gardens of larger homes of the wealthy donors. In 1730 the new style hofjes were luxurious complexes with fancy gateway buildings directly on the street. The original gateway house of this hofje still stands, but no longer functions as the home of a governing regent, but as a storefront. It is certainly grander than the Wildeman's hofje, but was itself surpassed as the fanciest hofje in Haarlem by the

Teylers Hofje The Teylershofje is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands with 24 houses. History of the foundation The current hofje was built in 1787 from the legacy of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst, just like the Teylers Museum close to it. Pieter Teyler van der H ...

Residents

The hofje was designed to be grand, because it was meant for women of the

Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family an ...

faith, at that time the official faith of the Haarlem council. According to the original hofje rules and regulations, the women eligible to live there were not very poor, because they had to buy their place for 50 florins and bring a long list of possessions with them, including clothing and furnishings. It originally had houses for 29 single elder women, after the renovation in 1990 this was reduced to 20.

Finances

The hofje was quite wealthy, and in 1783 celebrated its 50-year jubilee with a glass for the regents engraved with the portrait of Ysbrand Staats. According to the period history of Haarlem by

Pieter Langendijk Pieter Langendijk (Haarlem, 25 July 1683 – Haarlem, 9 or 18 July 1756) was a damask weaver, city artist, dramatist, and poet. Life Pieter was the son of Arend Kort, a mason born in Langedijk. His father died in 1689 so he temporarily came unde ...

, the hofje had bleaching fields behind the easternmost cottages and a pavilion on the Spaarne river for the ladies to drink tea in. During the French occupation the finances took a turn for the worse and that land was sold. An original drawing of the complete hofje complex from the Jansweg to the Spaarne hangs in the

Hofje van Noblet The Hofje van Noblet is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands. History It was built in 1761 from the legacy of Leonard Noblet and his sisters Sara en Geertruida. The houses in the hofje are built in the garden of the house of the Noblet family, ' ...

, whose finances are also managed by the same "Foundation for the preservation of the Hofjes Staats and Noblet". Address: Jansweg 39

References

* Deugd boven geweld, Een geschiedenis van Haarlem, 1245–1995, edited by Gineke van der Ree-Scholtens, 1995, * ''Haarlems hofjes'', Dr. G. H. Kurtz, Schuyt & Co C.V., Haarlem, 1972, * ''Door gangen en poorten naar de hofjes van Haarlem'', L. Peetorn and L. van der Hoek, Stichting Uitgeverij Barabinsk Leiden, 2001, {{Hofjes in Haarlem Hofjes 1730s establishments in Europe Rijksmonuments in Haarlem