Once upon a time in Haarlem stood a grand building. This is the Proveniershuis. It wasn’t always a home for elderly men. The Proveniershuis started its life as a nunnery. The St Michielsklooster thrived for centuries. This was until the Protestant Reformation. Then all church lands were given to the city council. Imagine the nuns’ distress. One nun Elisabeth Verhagen wrote about the upheaval. She described the plundering and the separation of the sisters. They were forced to leave their beloved cloister.
Later the city council repurposed the buildings. They housed the Haarlem schutterij. This was the St Jorisdoelen or St George militia. The garden was transformed. It became a shooting range. There were two lanes. One for bows and arrows. The other was for blunderbusses. The militiamen met more for practice than fighting. Frans Hals a member painted them in famous schutterstukken. These group portraits hung in the main hall. They were a popular tourist attraction. Many haven’t survived. Some are in the Frans Hals Museum.
By the 17th century the Proveniershuis was a gentlemen’s hotel. The city architect Lieven de Key restored it. It had rooms for travelers. There was a grand hall below. But coaches rarely stopped there. The plan to be a chic travelers’ refuge failed. In 1707 it became the Proveniershuis. It served older men who could pay for room and board. Poorer men went to the Oudemannenhuis. Frans Decker painted the regents in 1736. We know some of their names. One man in the back is unidentified. He was likely the secretary.
Famous residents included Daniel Cajanus. He was a Finnish giant said to be eight feet tall. Pieter Langendijk a Dutch historian also lived there. His stories tell us about life at the Proveniershuis. Cajanus is buried in the Sint-Bavokerk. His portrait hangs in the city hall.
During the French occupation in 1810 things changed. The French used the Oudemannenhuis as a garrison. The elderly men from both buildings were combined. The Proveniershuis became more like a hofje. In 1866 the hofje van Alkemade was added. It became Proveniershof. The hofje van Alkemade was demolished. A new library wing was built on the site of the St Adriansdoelen another Haarlem militia.
Today the Proveniershuis is a mix of rentals a shop and a lunchroom. It caters to shoppers on Grote Houtstraat. The peaceful courtyard remains a reminder of its rich history. So step inside and let the past surround you. This was the Proveniershuis.