Hofjes in Amsterdam (original) (raw)

''A Hofje is a Dutch word for a courtyard with almshouses around it. They have existed since the Middle Ages. A Hofje provided housing for elderly people (mostly women). They were privately funded, and served as a form of social security. In the Netherlands there are still a number of Hofjes in use. Hofjes are usually built in a U-shape with a yard or garden in the middle, and a gate as entrance. The shape of Hofjes was most likely inspired by the (older) Begijnenhofjes -- groups of small houses inhabited exclusively by religious women.'' (Wikipedia)

We have been living in Amsterdam for almost a year now (as of October 2010). Already in the first months we visited the Begijnhof, which is probably the most famous Hofje in the Netherlands. We liked it a lot, although it is really a crowded touristic place in the center of Amsterdam. Later on we decided to visit other Hofjes as well. We tried to gather as much information as possible on the internet and managed to find various lists of Hofjes (links can be found at the bottom of this page). However, there was no information as to which Hofjes are open to the public and which are only accessible to the people actually living there. So we decided to visit every Hofje in Amsterdam and to make a google map with all the necessary information including addresses and opening times. It took us five or six round-trips in Amsterdam to visit all of them and we had a lot of fun! So here it is:

The map with all the Hofjes in Amsterdam

Green marks stand for Hofjes that are open to the public.
Yellow-green is for Hofjes which are open except on sundays. (there are only two of them)
Obviously, those with red marks are closed for the public.

It is recommended to open the map in a separate tab!
This way you can browse the names and addresses on the left hand side.
Also, using the Print button you can easily print out any part of the map.

If you find any mistakes on this map or if you know a Hofje which is not included in this map, feel free to contact us:
J. Hörnyéki and BS. Pozsgai

Amsterdamse Hofjes (detailed history of the Hofjes, in Dutch)
JordaanWeb (a nice map and a virtual tour about the Hofjes in Jordaan, in Dutch)
Geschiedenis Amsterdam (a blog about the history of Amsterdam, in Dutch)