Clara van Spaerwoude

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Clara Jansdochter van Spaerwoude (sometimes written Sparwoude) (ca. 1530 – 4 August 1615) was a Dutch noblewoman of Delft who is chiefly remembered for her great wealth and various charitable funds from her estate. The most famous of these granted a sum of money to each of her relatives and their descendants upon their marriage, and was in continuous operation until 1922, when the monies were liquidated by the Dutch government.

Netherlands Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Europe

The Netherlands is a country located mainly in Northwestern Europe. The European portion of the Netherlands consists of twelve separate provinces that border Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. Together with three island territories in the Caribbean Sea—Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba— it forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The official language is Dutch, but a secondary official language in the province of Friesland is West Frisian.

Delft City and municipality in South Holland, Netherlands

Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, and The Hague, to the northwest. Together with them, it is part of both Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area and the Randstad.

Life and legacy

Clara was the daughter of Jan Heyndrixzn. (1477–1552) a goldsmith of Delft, and his second wife Willemtgen Willemsdr (1495–1564). In 1556 she married Arent Vranckenzn. van der Meer (died 1596), a high-ranking city official and burgemeester in Delft. Following her death on 4 August 1615, she was interred on 8 August in the Oude Kerk in Delft, where her prominent tomb is visible still.

Goldsmith metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals

A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Historically, goldsmiths also have made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and serviceable utensils, ceremonial or religious items, and rarely using Kintsugi, but the rising prices of precious metals have curtailed the making of such items to a large degree.

Oude Kerk (Delft) church in Delft, the Netherlands

The Oude Kerk, nicknamed Oude Jan and Scheve Jan, is a Gothic Protestant church in the old city center of Delft, the Netherlands. Its most recognizable feature is a 75-meter-high brick tower that leans about two meters from the vertical.

As Clara and her husband had no children together, upon her death she donated her considerable riches to various charitable projects, including a fund for "poor relations", typically interpreted as meaning all descendants of her elder half-brother Adriaan and younger half-sister Maritgen. A payment was made to each relation upon their wedding.

Originally a considerable sum of money, the amount paid dwindled over the centuries as a result of inflation and the increasing number of "relations." In the early 20th century the Dutch government retained an official whose responsibilities included maintaining the pedigree of Clara van Spaerwoude's family and disbursing the funds to qualifying relatives.

By the 1920s the fund still held half a million guilders, but the payment per relation had dwindled to the equivalent of €11.35. In 1922 the Dutch government passed a law liquidating the balance of the fund and dispensing it among the poorest 10% of adult van Spaerwoude relations.

Guilder monetary unit

Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German gulden, originally shortened from Middle High German guldin pfenninc "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empire for the Fiorino d'oro. Hence, the name has often been interchangeable with florin.

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