St. Elisabeth Gasthuis, Haarlem

St. Elisabeth Gasthuis
Former main entrance, today the Egelantier
General information
Type	hospital
Architectural style	neo-classical
Location	Haarlem
Address	Gasthuisvest 47
Coordinates	Coordinates: 52°22′34.60″N 4°38′3.65″E / 52.3762778°N 4.6343472°E / 52.3762778; 4.6343472
Completed	1871

The St. Elisabeth Gasthuis (EG) is a former hospital complex of buildings founded in 1581 in Haarlem on the Gasthuisvest. The last location of the hospital on the Boerhaavelaan retains its hospital function and is part of the Kennemer Gasthuis (KG) today. The hospital complex on the Gasthuisvest was built for the "Minnebroers" monastery and was reclaimed after the Protestant reformation in 1581 and given by the city council to the hospital. As a hospital during four centuries, the complex underwent many major renovations. The main facade dates from 1871.

The building is named after the society that ran the hospital, the St. Elisabeth Gasthuis, which is named after Elisabeth of Hungary. The society's original building, the Gangolf Gasthuis, was lost during the fire of 1572 and that land is now the location of the Vroom & Dreesmann building on the Verwulft. In 1581 the hospital petitioned the town for permission to build a new hospital while also filing for damages from the fire. They were awarded this location and the remaining monks in the monastery were forced to leave. On a map by Thomas Thomasz from 1578, both the burned Verwulft and the monastery complex can be seen clearly. Parts of the original complex are preserved, including the old regent rooms inside, though the furnishings and paintings have been transferred to the Frans Hals Museum.

Though 1581 is the official establishment date, the St. Elisabeth Gasthuis was already well established in 1489, when the Hofje van Loo was formed. The earliest mention in the Utrecht archives of the hospital is from 1406, when Walterus Dullaert made a payment to the Utrecht Arch-diocese for serving the altar to Saint Elisabeth in the Haarlem Gasthuis.

In 1683 the books were merged with the Hofje van Loo, a hofje that was associated with the Gangolf hospital in the old location. That hofje still exists today, though it is no longer actively administered by the hospital, which formed the "Elisabeth van Thüringen Fonds" in 1975 to administer its rich archives and artifacts.

Since 1975, the "Elisabeth van Thüringen Fonds" appointed a curator to take care of its imposing art collection, which was the result of centuries of commissions to local artists. In general, the art commissioned was meant to either glorify the purpose of the institution itself, or to commemorate the regents of the Gasthuis, generally at moments of change, such as new appointments or retirement. On 15 April 2012 a large selection of 11 works were formally signed over to the Frans Hals Museum, which already had 14 items on loan. These include the group portraits of former regents by Frans Hals, Jan Cornelisz Verspronck and Frans Decker, as well as pieces by Maarten van Heemskerck, Dirck Hals, Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem, Nicolaas Roosendael, Adriaan Backer, and a follower of Joachim Patenier.