The Rijpenhofje

In early modern times, each church denomination needed to care for its own vulnerable communities, and hofjes for housing elderly, poor, and orphans were a part of the structure that congregations used in order to do so. Amsterdam’s various Mennonite groups owned hofjes and other properties for this purpose all over the canal belt and the Jordaan.

In his will from 1733, Gerard van de Rijp (d. 1735) named his nephews Jan and Jacob van de Rijp Centen as his heirs on the condition that they use 20, 000 guilders of this inheritance to found a hofje and make further funds available to support the residents. The nephews followed their uncle’s instructions, founding the Rijpenhofje on the Rozengracht and serving as its first regents. Houses were purchased in 1736, and the hofje was ready for use as a home for elderly women a year later. In 1747, the title for the hofje was officially transferred over to the united Lam and Toren congregation.

In a portrait from 1721 by polish painter Christoffel Lubieniecki, Jan and Jacob van de Rijp-Centen are shown as small children playing cheerfully between their seated parents, Maria van de Rijp and Gozewijn Centen. This painting, now in Doopsgezind Amsterdam’s collection, is one of ten paintings donated to the Rijpenhofje in 1832 by Veronica van de Rijp Centen (1740-1832), who was a niece of Jan.

The Rijpenhofje has been substantially renovated over the years. It was first expanded in in 1830 with the addition of existing houses on the Rozengracht. Between 1910-1913 the hofje was rebuilt after it had fallen into disrepair. This renovation incorporated various design components with Art Nouveau and Art Deco characteristics at this point in time on the cusp of the Amsterdamse School period. Examples include the decorated gated entryway and fountain by Abraham Salm, who also designed the monumental aquarium at Artis and the Mennonite Oosterparkkerk which opened in 1904 (since 1975 in use by the Gereformeerde Kerk). A bust on the premises continues to pay tribute to Gerard van de Rijp’s role and legacy in establishing the hofje.

At present, the hofje still offers housing for single people (now both men and women) over the age of 55 with connections to Amsterdam’s Mennonite community. There are nine rooms for residents and three rooms for students who work as property managers. Since 1965, nine more residents have also lived on the adjoining premises of the Huizen De Lely (Bloemstraat 129-141), which were originally bequeathed from the estate of L.T. Vogel to Amsterdam’s Mennonite congregation in order to house couples aged 60 and over in 1872.