Begijnhof in AmsterdamThe Hofje van Bakenes, a hofje in Haarlem dating from 1395.Gablestone of the Hofje van Bakenes in HaarlemGroot Sionshofje in Leiden (Netherlands), 1860The Hofje van Gratie in DelftThe Geesthof in NaaldwijkThe Middengasthuis in GroningenEntrance gate to Hofje van Pauw in Delft
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). They were privately funded, and served as a form of social security. In the Netherlands there are still a number of hofjes in use.
Hofjes are usually built in a U-shape with a yard or garden in the middle, and a gate as entrance. The shape of hofjes was most likely inspired by the (older) Begijnenhofjes—groups of small houses inhabited exclusively by religious women.
A distinction is usually made between the Begijnenhofjes and 'regular' hofjes. The former were used only by (Catholic) women, who were supporting themselves. They were a kind of cloister. The latter were more charitable institutions.
To be eligible to live in a hofje one had to meet four criteria:
Sex: almost all hofjes were founded for women, as they could be relied on to keep a household running; although hofjes for men and married couples did exist
Religion: many hofjes were founded for people of the same faith as the founder (some hofjes were founded by church communities)
Age: from the 17th century a minimum age was often used. Fifty years was common, and this was an old age in those years
Social-economic background: hofjes were targeted for poorer people
In the 18th century some hofjes were founded for commercial purposes; the inhabitants would pay rent.
The "Hofje van Mevrouw Van Aerden" in Leerdam is open to visitors as a museum.
Cities with many hofjes in the Netherlands include:
Haarlem 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 more populated metropolitan areas in Europe; it is also part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area. Haarlem had a population of 162,543 in 2021.
Leerdam is a city and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. The municipality was merged with the municipalities of Vianen and Zederik on 1 January 2019. The name of the new municipality is Vijfheerenlanden which is a part of the province Utrecht. The former municipality Leerdam was a part of the province South Holland.
The Frans Hals Museum is a museum located in Haarlem, the Netherlands.
The Spaarne is a river in North Holland, Netherlands. This partially canalized river connects the Ringvaart to a side branch of the North Sea Canal. It runs through Haarlem, Heemstede, and Spaarndam.
The Hofje van Bakenes or Bakenesserkamer is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands, located between the Bakenessergracht and the Wijde Appelaarsteeg. In the Middle Ages "kamer" or "room" meant house. Usually the houses within a hofje consisted of just one single room.
The Hofje van Noblet is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands.
The Frans Loenenhofje is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands, on the Witte Heren straat.
The Hofje van Loo is a hofje on the Barrevoetstraat 7 in Haarlem, Netherlands.
The Teylershofje is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands with 24 houses.
Haarlem is one of the cities in the Netherlands that has a number of hofjes. Some of them are still in use with boards of regents. Many of these are members of the Stichting Haarlemse Hofjes. 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.
The Brouwershofje is a hofje on the Tuchthuisstraat in Haarlem, Netherlands.
The Hofje van Willem Heythuijsen is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands. It was founded in 1650 by the testament of Willem van Heythuysen on the site of his summer residence outside the city walls of Haarlem on land that was considered Heemstede property until it was annexed in 1927. It is one of the few hofjes of Haarlem to be built outside the city walls. It has a 'T' shape and has a small open courtyard and a garden still intact.
The Zuiderhofje is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands.
Schutterij refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces within the city, near the city walls, but, when the weather did not allow, inside a church. They are mostly grouped according to their district and to the weapon that they used: bow, crossbow or gun. Together, its members are called a Schuttersgilde, which could be roughly translated as a "shooter's guild". It is now a title applied to ceremonial shooting clubs and to the country's Olympic rifle team.
Willem van Heythuysen, was a Dutch cloth merchant and hofje founder in Haarlem and Weert. He is best known today for his portraits by Frans Hals, though he is remembered locally for his Hofje van Willem Heythuijsen bordering Haarlemmerhout park, which has been in operation for centuries.
The Proveniershuis is a hofje and former schutterij on the Grote Houtstraat in Haarlem, Netherlands.
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. This hofje is the wealthiest hofje foundation in Haarlem with the most modern facilities for its inhabitants. Poor (devote) Catholic women of Haarlem 60 years and older are still welcome to live there for free.
Two Laughing Boys with a Mug of Beer is an oil-on-canvas painting by Frans Hals, created c. 1626, showing a Kannekijker (mug-looker). Someone looking into a mug refers to an old Dutch word for a glutton, greedy for more. This visual theme was also used to depict sight as one of the five senses, and various people have argued about whether this portrait was meant as one in a series of the five senses along with Two Boys singing for hearing and a variant version of The Smoker for smell:
The Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden is a museum and former hofje in Leerdam, Netherlands, on the Kerkstraat.
Mevrouw van Aerden, née Maria Ponderus, was an 18th-century art collector and hofje founder from the Northern Netherlands.
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