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The Coen Cuserhof is a former orphanage in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

. The complex was designed by J.A.G. van der Steur and the original maquette is on display in the Historisch Museum Haarlem.

History

The building is named after the society that ran the orphanage, the ''Stichting Coen Cuser Huis'', which is named after the original benefactor Coen Cuser, a Haarlem knight who founded a house for the poor on the Krocht in Haarlem in 1394.Het Gereformeerd of Burger Weeshuis 1394-1969
/ref> That original building, the ''Heilige Geesthuis'', has been torn down and the land is now the location of the Hofje van Oorschot. From 1765 to 1808, the Coen Cuser orphanage (also called the ''Burger Weeshuis'') was located on the Kinderhuisvest. In 1808, the orphanage moved to the Diakonie on the Koudenhorn (currently the location of the Haarlem police headquarters). In 1810, they moved again to the Klein Heiligland in the quarters of the former old men's almshouse (currently the location of the

Frans Hals Museum The Frans Hals Museum (formerly ''Stedelijk Museum van Haarlem'') is a museum in the North Holland city of Haarlem, the Netherlands, founded in 1862, known as the Art Museum of Haarlem. Its collection is based on the city's own rich collection, b ...

). In 1908, the orphanage moved to the Olieslagerslaan to the Coen Cuserhof, where the orphanage closed in 1988, since by then the care for most Haarlem orphans was done by the federal authorities. Notable residents of the orphanage were

Jacobus van Looy Jacobus (Jac) van Looy (12 September 1855 – 24 February 1930) was a Dutch painter and writer. Biography Van Looy was the son of a carpenter, but his father lost his job when his eyesight began to fail. His mother died when he was five y ...

who grew up in the orphanage when it was located in the Klein Heiligland, and Miep den Oude-Snel, who wrote the book "Miep" about her experiences in the Coen Cuserhof. Until 1933, the children were still wearing uniforms with one red sleeve and one blue sleeve. The Haarlem Mennonite philanthropist

Pieter Teyler van der Hulst Pieter Teyler van der Hulst (25 March 1702 – 8 April 1778) was a wealthy Dutch Mennonite merchant and banker, who died childless, leaving a legacy of two million florins (in today's terms: about EUR 80 million) to the pursuit of religion, arts ...

left funds in 1778 to organize a yearly party in his name for all the orphans of Haarlem, to be held in the Doopsgezinde Weeshuis (Mennonite orphanage). The tradition was still held in Miep's time at the beginning of the 20th century, though the location had changed and was the Mennonite orphanage on the Kleine Houtweg. Miep recalled being jealous of the Mennonite orphans who had brown dresses."MIEP: Herinneringen van een meisje in het Haarlemse Burgerweeshuis (1934 - 1942)", by Miep den Oude-Snel, Stichting Gereformeerd of Burgerweeshuis, Haarlem, 2006,

References

{{reflist
History
on website of the Coen Cuser Stichting Buildings and structures in Haarlem History of Haarlem Rijksmonuments in Haarlem Residential buildings completed in 1908 1908 establishments in the Netherlands 20th-century architecture in the Netherlands Orphanages in Europe Neoclassical architecture in the Netherlands 1988 disestablishments in the Netherlands