Hofje van Willem Heythuijsen

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Hofje front door on the East side of the Haarlemmerhout park, showing the narrow passage to the garden on the South side of the T-shaped complex. Above the door, the plaque reads; "'t Hofken van Wilhelm van Heythuysen, 1651". On the left, the taller tower-like building is the oldest structure standing. Hofje willem van heythuijsen - kleine houtweg.JPG
Hofje front door on the East side of the Haarlemmerhout park, showing the narrow passage to the garden on the South side of the T-shaped complex. Above the door, the plaque reads; "'t Hofken van Wilhelm van Heythuysen, 1651". On the left, the taller tower-like building is the oldest structure standing.
Hofje garden on the South side of the T-shaped complex. In the back, the taller tower-like building can be seen. Hofje willem van heythuyzen.JPG
Hofje garden on the South side of the T-shaped complex. In the back, the taller tower-like building can be seen.

The Hofje van Willem Heythuijsen is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands. It was founded in 1650 by the testament of Willem van Heythuysen (sometimes spelled Heijthuijsen) 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.

Hofje almshouses around a courtyard

A hofje is a Dutch word for a courtyard with almshouses around it. They have existed since the Middle Ages.

Haarlem City and municipality in North Holland, Netherlands

Haarlem is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland and is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe. Haarlem had a population of 159,556 in 2017. It is a 15-minute train ride from Amsterdam, and many residents commute to the country's capital for work.

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.

Biography

Willem Heythuijsen was a cloth merchant born in Weert, a small city in Dutch Limburg. Frans Hals painted him several times, and one of these portraits hung in this hofje for centuries. In 1636 Willem van Heythuijsen had his will and testament drawn up with the plans for this hofje in the event that he and his sister would die without issue. All of the information we have today about Willem van Heythuijsen is from this will and the acts drawn up by his executors Tieleman Roosterman and Marten van Sittart. Roosterman was the first regent of the hofje and also had his portrait painted by Frans Hals.

Weert Municipality in Limburg, Netherlands

Weert is a municipality and city in the southeastern Netherlands. Weert had a population of 51.000 in 2017. It lies on the Eindhoven–Maastricht railway line, and is also astride the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal.

Duchy of Limburg duchy in Western Europe between 1065-1795

The Duchy of Limburg or Limbourg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its main territory including the capital Limbourg is today located within the Belgian province of Liège, with a small part in the neighbouring province of Belgian Limburg, within the east of Voeren.

Frans Hals 17th-century painter from the Northern Netherlands

Frans Hals the Elder was a Dutch Golden Age painter, normally of portraits, who lived and worked in Haarlem. He is notable for his loose painterly brushwork, and he helped introduce this lively style of painting into Dutch art. Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century group portraiture.

After his sister Geertruyd van Heyhuysen died, his double house on the Oude gracht were sold, as was his summer home on the Spaarne. The summer home "Middelhout" was sold to Hendrik van Vladeracken, brother-in-law to Rosterman. Their daughter Susanna became a regent of the hofje and lived to be 90. Thanks to her legacy, the hofje underwent repairs and a painting was made to honor her that is now in the possession of the Frans Hals Museum. Today Middelhout is called Spaar en Hout and is an old age home.

Spaarne river in Haarlem

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.

Frans Hals Museum Art museum in Haarlem, Netherlands

The Frans Hals Museum is a museum located in Haarlem, the Netherlands.

The proceeds of the van Heythuijsen estate were used to convert the orchard and the gardener's houses of Middelhout into a hofje with room for twelve pensioners, and enough money was left over to make donations to the Oudemannenhuis (currently the location of the Frans Hals Museum), the Diaconie (currently the location of the Police station), and to the city of Weert for founding a hofje there as well. To provide income for the hofje, more land was purchased just North of this hofje outside the city walls in an area called Rozenprieel, which generated income from rents.

Unlike many other hofjes, this hofje accommodated both male and female inhabitants, until it switched to only female inhabitants in the 18th century. The hofje was built on the border with Heemstede, and the regent's room was South of the rest of the complex on Heemstede land. For centuries a stone border marker was situated in front of the entrance. In 1927 Haarlem annexed a large portion of Heemstede and the marker was removed. It is now in the garden of the Frans Hals Museum.

Address: Kleine Houtweg 135

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References

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Coordinates: 52°22′11″N4°37′57″E / 52.36972°N 4.63250°E / 52.36972; 4.63250

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