The Proveniershuis is a

hofje A (diminutive of 'hof', 'court') is a Dutch word for a courtyard with almshouses around it. have existed since the Middle Ages. A provided housing for elderly people (mostly women). They were privately funded, and served as a form of ...

and former

schutterij 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 w ...

on the

Grote Houtstraat The Grote Houtstraat is a shopping street in Haarlem that connects the Grote Markt, Haarlem, Grote Markt to the Houtplein in the direction of the Haarlemmerhout woods. History The street runs along one of two old parallel roads running through the ...

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 ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The complex of buildings surrounds a rectangular garden taking up a city block that is on the Haarlem hofje route. Unlike

s that were meant for poor elderly women, the homes around this courtyard are much larger, and the garden itself is about twice the normal size. The reason is that these inhabitants were men who actually paid rent to live there, as opposed to hofje inhabitants who had no income to spend on rent. Most hofjes were for women, because they were able to run their own modest household, usually as a member of a "hofje team" in various responsible roles. Men were generally less able to take care of themselves and were thus dependent on the "preuves" in the form of simple meals and services that were paid for from rents.

History

This home for Haarlem ''proveniers'' was founded in 1707 by the city council to house elderly men. The main buildings are much older than that. The entire site was once a nunnery, called the St. Michielsklooster, from the 14th century up to the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, when all church lands reverted to the city council. The Haarlem archives still have a first-hand account of one of the original nuns, Elisabeth Verhagen, who was moved to a house on the Begijnhof after the reformation. She complained of the plundering of her old cloister and the fact that all the sisters were split up and sent to live elsewhere. They had to make room for the ''St. Joris Doelen'', or St. George Militia.

St. Jorisdoelen

In 1577, the city council refurbished the main buildings to house the

Haarlem schutterij The Haarlem schutterij refers to a collective name for the voluntary Schutterij, civic guard of Haarlem, from medieval times up to the Batavian Revolution in 1794, when the guilds of Haarlem were disbanded. History During the Hook and Cod wars ...

called the "Oude schuts", and since before the reformation they had been a

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

with patron saint St. Joris, or St. George, this was called the St. Jorisdoelen, or ''St. George militia target field''. The garden was converted to include two shooting lanes; one for bow and arrow, and one for the

blunderbuss The blunderbuss is a 17th- to mid-19th-century firearm with a short, large caliber Gun barrel, barrel. It is commonly flared at the muzzle (firearms), muzzle to help aid in the loading of Lead shot, shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity ...

. The fancy St. Joris militiamen, who during the course of the 17th-century met more often together for shooting practise than for fighting or policing the streets, were painted several times in ''

schutterstuk 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 w ...

ken'', most notably by militia member

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, ; ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He lived and worked in Haarlem, a city in which the local authority of the day frowned on religious painting in places of worship but citizens liked to decorate thei ...

Schutterstukken

Today, 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 ...

houses several schutterstukken, which are group portraits of the officers of the St. George militia painted to commemorate the end of a three-year term of service. These paintings once hung in the main hall and were considered tourist attractions in their day. As they accumulated over the course of time, they were slowly crowded out, so not all schutterstukken have survived. The list of paintings that have survived up to the present day are as follows: File:Cornelis van Haarlem - Banket van de officieren van de St. Jorisdoelen.jpg, 1599, Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem File:Frans Hals - Banket van de officieren van de Sint-Joris-Doelen.jpg,

1616 Events January–March * January 1 – King James I of England attends the masque '' The Golden Age Restored'', a satire by Ben Jonson on fallen court favorite the Earl of Somerset. The king asks for a repeat performance on January 6. ...

, Frans Hals File:Frans Pietersz de Grebber - Maaltijd van officieren van de St. Jorisdoelen 1618.jpg, 1618,

Frans Pietersz de Grebber Frans Pietersz de Grebber (1573 – c. 1649) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Life and career Frans Pietersz de Grebber was born and died in Haarlem. He belonged to the ancient De Grebber family originally from Waterland, and was the son of P ...

File:Frans Pietersz de Grebber - Maaltijd van officieren van de St. Jorisdoelen 1621-1624.jpg, 1624, Frans Pietersz. de Grebber File:Frans Hals 013.jpg,

1627 Events January–March * January 26 – The Dutch ship '' 't Gulden Zeepaert'', skippered by François Thijssen, makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia. * February 15 – The administrative rura ...

, Frans Hals File:Frans Hals 020.jpg,

1639 Events January–March * January 19 – Hämeenlinna () is granted privileges, after it separates from the Vanaja parish, as its own city in Tavastia. *c. January – The first printing press in British North America is ...

, Frans Hals (with self-portrait) File:Pieter Claesz. Soutman - Maaltijd van het korporalschap van de St. Jorisdoelen 1644.jpg, 1644, Pieter Claesz Soutman

From fancy inn to old age home

The complex was the domain of militiamen until well into the 17th century, but in 1688 Romeyn de Hooghe made an etching of the building, calling it the ''Heren Logement'', or gentlemen's hotel. In 1682 it had been restored by the city architect

Lieven de Key Lieven de Key (1560 – 17 July 1627) was a Flemish renaissance architect who after working in his native Flanders moved to work in the Dutch Republic. He is mostly known today for his works in Haarlem. His style is described by Simon Schama as M ...

for this purpose, with rooms being made for travelers in the top floors, and a main hall below. It was meant to be a chic refuge for travelers by coach, but this never quite succeeded, because the coaches never stopped there. In 1707 it became the proveniershuis, serving older men who could pay room and board. Older men with no money at all were kept in the men's poor house known as the ''Oudemannenhuis'', a similar courtyard complex just a few blocks away and currently housing the

. The regents were painted in 1736 by

Frans Decker Frans Decker (1684 – 1751) was an 18th-century painter from the Dutch Republic. Biography Decker was born in 1684. He was a painter whose pictures possess great merit, and are to be met with in almost every collection. He is stated to have be ...

. These men were: Cornelis Ascanius van Sypesteyn (1694-1744), A. de Bruijn, Jacobus Barnaart (1696-1762), M. Kuijts en Jan Reeland (1708-1755), group portrait by

. The man standing in the back is probably the secretary, but his name is unknown. File:Pieter Langendijk.jpg, Pieter Langendijk Image:Life-size portrati of Daniel Cajanus in Haarlem city hall.JPG, Daniel Cajanus in Haarlem city hall. File:Frans Decker - portrait of the regents of the Proveniershuis in Haarlem FHM01 OS-I-63 W.JPG, The regents in 1736 by Frans Decker. The most famous men who stayed in the Proveniershuis in the 18th century were

Daniel Cajanus Daniel Cajanus (1704 – 27 February 1749) was a Swedish/Finnish giant. He made his living by exhibiting himself for money, appearing in many European countries and attracting the interest of scientists and laypeople, including royalty. After his ...

, the "''Wonderful giant''" Finn who was said to be eight feet high, and

Pieter Langendijk Pieter Langendijk (Haarlem, 25 July 1683 – Haarlem, 9 or 18 July 1756) was a damask weaver, city artist, dramatist, and poet. Life Pieter was the son of Arend Kort, a mason born in Langedijk. His father died in 1689 so he temporarily came und ...

, the Dutch historian. Daniel Cajanus was buried in the

Sint-Bavokerk The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a Reformed Protestant church located on the central market square ( Grote Markt) in the Dutch city of Haarlem. The church was built in 1307. Prior to the Reformation, Grote Kerk was a Catholic cathedral after wh ...

when he died in 1749 and a commemorative painting of him now hangs in the lower back cloisters of the city hall. From Pieter Langendijk's stories, we know a bit about the daily life of the average provenier.

French occupation and 19th-century

In 1810 during the French occupation the French used the Oudemannenhuis as a

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

and the elderly men were merged with the proveniers in the Proveniershuis, giving it more of a hofje function. In 1866 the hofje van Alkemade was merged into the Proveniershuis and it became Proveniershof. That hofje was torn down to build the new wing of the local library, itself on the grounds of the other militia of Haarlem, the ''St. Adriansdoelen''. Today the homes around the courtyard are rentals; and the main building houses a shop and a lunch room catering to the busy shoppers in the Grote Houtstraat. Address: Grote Houtstraat 140

References

* Het Proveniershuis te Haarlem, by G. H. Kurtz, Vereniging "Haerlem", Haarlem 1979 * Frans Hals Schutterstukken, by Neeltje Köhler, Koos Levy-van Halm, and Gary Schwartz (volume II of 2 volume work), Mercatorfonds, 1990, {{Rijksmonument, 19243 Hofjes 1707 establishments in the Dutch Republic Rijksmonuments in Haarlem 18th-century architecture in the Netherlands