Lutheran Courtyard - Zutphen

The Lutheran community established this courtyard in 1850 as housing for the poor within their church congregation. Where the entrance gate now stands, there used to be a warehouse. Fourteen small homes were built, along with two slightly larger ones in the front building. A garden was laid out in the middle.

One of the houses was home to the porter. His job was to keep the facade and entrance clean, light the lamp under the archway, close the gate at 10:00 PM, and collect weekly rent. If neighbours had a dispute, the porter was expected to mediate.

And disputes happened often, mostly because the homes were simply too cramped. At the time, it was thought that the poor didn’t need more than 10 square metres of space. To cut costs, the rain barrel, well and toilet were removed. Potatoes were stored under the bedstead. A shared kitchen wasn't added until ten years after the first residents had moved in. In 1910, new housing laws meant the homes no longer met legal standards and the water facilities had to be improved.

In the 1970s, both the interior and exterior of the complex were renovated with financial help from the national government, the province and the municipality. Of the original sixteen homes, nine remained. Now, more than 150 years later, the Lutheran Courtyard is part of a Zutphen housing foundation and is still inhabited today.