Haarlem is one of the cities in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
that has a number of
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). ...
s. Some of them are still in use with boards of regents. Many of these are members of the ''Stichting Haarlemse Hofjes'' (Foundation Hofjes of Haarlem). The word 'hofje' just means small garden, because the hofjes are generally small houses grouped around a community kitchen garden with a water pump. Often they were attached to a larger field for bleaching linen or growing orchards, but today those fields have been long used for city expansion and only the central gardens can still be seen.
Early hospitals
What we would call 'social work' today was called charity work in earlier centuries. Hofjes in Haarlem are the remnants of charity work that were founded by defunct community structures that were divided by religious order and social class, but all more or less guided by the then prevailing need to perform the Christian Seven
Works of Mercy
Works of mercy (sometimes known as acts of mercy) are practices considered meritorious in Christian ethics.
The practice is popular in the Catholic Church as an act of both penance and charity. In addition, the Methodist church teaches that the ...
; feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, bury the dead, shelter the traveler, comfort the sick, and free the imprisoned. Committing any of these acts would gain the giver entrance through the pearly gates of Heaven. This is what prompted so many wealthy Haarlem citizens to found Hofjes in their name on their death.
In Haarlem the city council became responsible for acts of mercy on a grand scale when the leper colony was founded outside the city walls in the town of
Schoten
Schoten () is a municipality located in Antwerp Province, Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Schoten proper. As of 1 January 2020 Schoten has a total population of 34,311. The total area is which gives a population density of ...
in 1393. For centuries from all over Holland, lepers had to come to Haarlem to get an ''attestatie'' or proof of leprosy, as a legal permit to beg. Similarly, the Haarlem ''Beul'', or city executioner, "freed" prisoners all over the country from
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
to
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
by chopping their heads off. This led to the Dutch saying ''zo brutaal als de beul van Haarlem'', meaning "as brutal as the Haarlem executioner". This morbid practise was only stopped in the beginning of the seventeenth century. The Haarlem leper colony,
Het Dolhuys
Het Dolhuys( meaning in English: "The crazy house") is a national museum for psychiatry in Haarlem, Netherlands. The museum was founded in 2005 in the newly renovated former old age home known as ''Schoterburcht'', located just across the Schot ...
, still exists and is currently a museum.
In 1347, the first mention of a 'Gasthuys' is made in Haarlem archives. After the leper colony was founded (in the name of
Saint Lazarus), a new gasthuys, in the name of
Saint Elisabeth
Elizabeth (also spelled Elisabeth; Hebrew: אֱלִישֶׁבַע / אֱלִישָׁבַע "My God has sworn", Standard Hebrew: '' Elišévaʿ'' / ''Elišávaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew: ''ʾĔlîšéḇaʿ'' / ''ʾĔlîšāḇaʿ''; Greek: Ἐλισ ...
, was built on the Verwulft where the sick were treated that did not need quarantine outside the city walls. This hospital grew until the fire that burned it down. Hofje van Loo was an add-on that survived. The Elisabeth Gasthuys (later called EG) was rebuilt on the location of a former monastery (cellenbroers or minnebroers) in the Groot Heiligland (across the street from the
Frans Hals Museum
The Frans Hals Museum is a museum located in Haarlem, the Netherlands.
The museum was established in 1862. In 1950, the museum was split in two locations when the collection of modern art was moved to the '' Museum De Hallen'' (since 2018 called ...
today) where it operated from 1581 to 1971. Originally a church institution, it was now run by Haarlem council members, due to the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
. Since the German occupation of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, this hospital is no longer run by the Haarlem council, but still exists and is called the Kennemer Gasthuis today. The former buildings in the Groot Heiligland house a community center and have been converted to homes.
Management
The hofjes are managed by five board members called regents. Any community structure in Haarlem, be it a
guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
or a hofje, had a group of five regents or regentesses. Whenever there was a change of board members, a commemorative painting would be made. In paintings by
Frans Hals' the regents of the Poor men's almshouse and the regents of the St. Elisabeth Gasthuys can be seen. Many guilds kept hofjes for their own aging members. When the guilds were disbanded under the French occupation in 1794, the guild regents kept their role as hofje regents, since the hofjes were at that time still quite wealthy. With the
tiercering The Tiercering (from the French word ''tierce'', meaning a third) refers to a historical event in the Netherlands on July 9, 1810, when Emperor Napoleon imposed a reduction of interest to one third of the norm on Dutch government bonds. Because of ...
in 1810 however, the lack of revenues from both government bonds and guild membership dues was sorely felt and many hofjes went bankrupt and were disbanded.
Wealth
It was the duty of the regents to care for the books and the behavior of the members. Many hofjes were quite wealthy, due to the high turnover of its members, who had to donate all of their possessions to the hofje in order to be accepted for living there. Other sources of income were lotteries, that were organized to build new premises or restore old ones. The living conditions between the various hofjes varied substantially, with each religious order competing to keep the most luxurious one. Today most of the surviving hofjes receive their income from housing rents.
Origins
When talking of hofjes, most people refer to the name given to the buildings themselves, but the foundations they are based on may have moved premises several times since the original foundation date, and even changed their names. Hofjes in Haarlem were primarily the result of generous bequests by wealthy men or women in their own name, rather than from any group religious or municipal effort. Most hofjes were meant for elderly women, because there were far more poor aged women in the streets than poor aged men.
However, after the
iconoclasm
Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...
of the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
in Haarlem in 1566, the Catholics (and their hofjes) were forced underground, and many became quite poor. When the 'Oudemannenhuis' opened in 1609, many of the poor men who were accepted were Catholics.
List of Haarlem hofjes (by year of foundation)
* 1395:
Hofje van Bakenes (or ''Bakenesserkamer'')
* 1435:
St. Barbara Gasthuis (or ''Onse Lieve Vrouwegasthuis'')
* 1440:
Vrouwe- en Antonie Gasthuys
The Vrouwe- en Antonie Gasthuis is a hofje on the Klein Heiligland 64a in Haarlem, Netherlands. It is open on weekdays from 10-17.00.
History of the Foundation
This hofje is run by a charitable foundation called 'Vrouwe- en Antonie Gasthuis', wh ...
(Merger of ''Onse Lieve Vrouwegasthuis op Bakenes'', and ''Sint Antoniegasthuis'')
* 1472:
Brouwershofje (or ''Sint Maartensgasthuis'')
* 1489:
Hofje van Loo
The Hofje van Loo is a hofje on the Barrevoetstraat 7 in Haarlem, Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlan ...
(or ''St. Elisabeth's Gasthuis'')
* 1607:
Frans Loenenhofje
* 1609:
Frans Hals Museum
The Frans Hals Museum is a museum located in Haarlem, the Netherlands.
The museum was established in 1862. In 1950, the museum was split in two locations when the collection of modern art was moved to the '' Museum De Hallen'' (since 2018 called ...
(or ''Oudemannenhuis'')
* 1609 & 1684:
Hofje Codde en Van Beresteijn
The Hofje van Codde en Beresteyn is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands. The current building is from 1968 and is located on the J. Cuyperstraat, which is named for the architect who designed the Cathedral of Saint Bavo next door, Joseph Cuypers. Thi ...
* 1610:
Bruiningshofje
* 1614:
Lutherse Hofje
* 1616:
Hofje In den Groenen Tuin
* 1616:
Hofje van Guurtje de Waal
* 1640:
Zuiderhofje
* 1650:
Hofje van Willem Heythuijsen
* 1662:
Wijnbergshofje
The Wijnbergshofje is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands, on the Barrevoetstraat.
It was founded in 1662 by the Mennonite Church. It was renovated in 1872 and contains 9 houses for pensioners. This hofje is one of four Mennonite hofjes in Haarlem; ...
* 1730:
Hofje van Staats
* 1752:
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 de ...
(or 1787, see article)
* 1760:
Hofje van Noblet
* 1768:
Hofje van Oorschot
* 1773:
Remonstrants Hofje
* 2001:
Gravinnehof
* 2007:
Johan Enschedé Hof
External links
Haarlem Shuffle - Haarlem's Secret GardensVideo tour of Haarlem's HofjesHaarlemse Hofjes Krant
References
* 400 Jaar St. Elisabeth's of Groote Gasthuis te Haarlem; A.F. Gaarlandt-Kist, Leeuwarden 1981
* 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, {{ISBN, 90-73983-17-7
History of Haarlem
Hofjes