Vrouwenhuis

It is now rented as separate apartment units for students, while housing a small museum on the ground floor that is only accessible by special request.

[1] The harbour was part of the Grote Aa waterway, a tributary of the Zwarte Water running through the city, which was filled in after cholera outbreaks in the 19th century.

Gesina ter Borch lived and worked on the Sassenstraat, and her contemporary Eva van Marle had been active as a portrait painter in the 1650s.

[8] Though Beurs appears to have been very proud of his pupils, whom he taught for 4 years, it is probable that before he arrived in Zwolle they had received instruction from another painter, such as Wolfsen or Ter Borch.

[9] An unmarried aunt came to live with them and at age 49 in 1718, Greve drew up her will, in which she outlined her plan to use her legacy to create a retirement home for 17 women of the Dutch Reformed faith and their governess.

[9] The stone was commissioned by Gerrijt Willem Golts, the first regent, who also oversaw the conversion of the complex to homes for 17 (later 12, today 5) single women with a common kitchen.

[9] With the increase in public services in the 20th century, the need for private initiatives to help the poor decreased, and the Vrouwenhuis closed as a charitable institution for elderly ladies in 1984.