Discover the Fraterhuis – Pesthuis in Harderwijk, a national monument dating back to 1441. Visit this historic building on Open Monument Day at Straat van Sevenhuysen 4.
The Fraterhuis-Pesthuis is not open to the public during the year. On Open Monument Day, the residence at Straat van Sevenhuysen 4 is open for viewing. In 1441, the aldermen of Harderwijk transferred a house on Straat van Sevenhuysen to several priests and clerks from Zwolle, on the condition that a fraterhuis (brotherhood house) be established there. The friars, followers of Geert Grote from Deventer, called themselves Brothers of the Common Life. During the Reformation in Harderwijk in 1578, the friars had to surrender their possessions to the city. The friars' chapel became the plague house around 1586. The plague house functioned as a nursing home until approximately 1832. Afterward, it was divided into workers' dwellings. The building burned down in 1976 and was subsequently rebuilt to its original state. There are currently three residences located in the former Fraterhuis.
