Karthuizerhof

A courtyard behind an ordinary street

The Karthuizerhof is a big almshouse courtyard in the Jordaan, and most people walking down the Karthuizersstraat go straight past the gate. Inside, four long brick wings enclose a large, quiet garden. The street noise stays outside.

People still live here. It is social housing, so you are a guest in someone's backyard. That is part of the appeal. Nothing is staged, and the courtyard feels like a place that has simply kept going for centuries.

Widows, plague and a monastery

The courtyard's official name is the Huiszittenweduwenhof. In 1650 the city built it for about a hundred widows and unmarried women who could no longer support themselves. The city architect, Daniël Stalpaert, designed it. A woman who got a place received a free home. She also got peat for the winter, bread, cheese and a little pocket money.

The everyday name comes from earlier. A Carthusian monastery stood on this ground until the late 16th century. In 1602 the old cloister became a burial ground for plague victims. Almost fifty years later the almshouse went up on the same site. So when you stand in the garden, you are standing on a lot of Amsterdam's layered past.

What to look for

Start in the garden. Two water pumps from the 17th century stand there. Look closely at the bronze spouts. One is shaped like a fish head, the other like a face.

Then turn back towards the gate and look above it on the inside. You will see Amsterdam's old coat of arms, a cog ship. It is a small detail, easy to miss if you only glance up.

Before you leave, look at the street outside. White wooden drying racks hang under the upper windows. They gave the Karthuizersstraat its nickname, the drying-rack street.

Keep your voice low and your camera away from windows and from the residents. The courtyard works best when you walk slowly, sit with the view for a moment, and go.