Proveniershof

The Proveniershof or Proeve is a group of alms houses set up in 1555 by Jan Claeszoon Brouwer on the site of the houses of the Beguines, a sisterhood of nurses. The two wings of the building date mostly from the 17th century, although at a later date several changes were made. The small bleaching field, an open area where cloth was spread on the ground to be purified and whitened by the action of the sunlight, has been changed into a courtyard garden with a mass of colourful flowers.