page_title: Vrouwenhuis
section_title: Wolfsen family owners
hierarchical_section_title: Vrouwenhuis / Wolfsen family owners
caption_attribution_description: English: Indoor hallway that connects the two houses. Nederlands: Overdekte gang die het voor- en achterhuis aan elkaar verbindt.
context_page_description: The Vrouwenhuis on Melkmarkt 53 in the Dutch city of Zwolle is a former old age home for women. 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.
context_section_description: The house was bought in 1645 by the young lawyer Hendrik Wolfsen (1615–1684), the wealthy son of a councilman (Rijkman) in Zwolle. Hendrik kept a diary in the 1640s until 1649 when he became magistrate of Zwolle. The facade of his house was improved in the early 17th century, probably according to his instructions. His daughter, the painter Aleijda Wolfsen, was born there on 22 October 1648. From 1650–1656, he became a representative to the Staten Generaal and stayed for weeks at a time in The Hague. In 1657, he moved his family to the Hague when he was promoted to member of the high court of the Duchy of Brabant. He kept the house in Zwolle, and when his daughter Aleijda married Pieter Soury (later mayor of Zwolle) in 1667 in Rijswijk, he gave her the house on the Grote Aa in exchange for the couple's possessions in the Hague.
  The couple had several children, and in 1680 they made improvements to the house, most notably building the hallway attaching the front house to the rear house, so that they could house their extended family. The extra space was probably also necessary as a studio for Aleijda, who continued to paint after her marriage. Her sitting room, the "Grote Sael" (later the regent's room) with its carved mantelpiece, and the carved wood decorations and marble floors in the hallway were all added during Aleijda's lifetime.
caption: Hallway linking the front house to the rear house, added by Soury-Wolfsen family
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