The Hof van Wouw

An impressive entrance but visitors have to use the entrance around the back.

When you push back the green sliding door at the end of the road you don’t count on finding a small reprieve from the bustling streets of The Hague. Yet, a garden of peacefulness complete with manicured hedges, planted flowers and cobblestone paths is exactly what you find.

The location? The Garden of Hesperides, part of the Hof van Wouw, located in the centre of The Hague. The Hof van Wouw is one of more than 100 ‘Haagse Hofjes’ in the city of The Hague.

Hofjes are mini-communities of small houses surrounding an inner-garden. They grew out of the need for suitable housing for the elderly when urbanization reduced the city house, able to accommodate large extended families, into smaller single family homes.

Originally seen as quaint and idyllic properties to live in, the homes were often dark, cold and in disrepair. Many were abandoned following the war in favour of newly built apartment buildings. In the 1980’s, the Ministry of Culture designated the hofjes as ‘cultural monuments,’ paving the way to grants for restoration and modernisation, returning the hofjes to desired places of residence, once again.