Pesthuis, Leiden, Historic lazaretto in Leiden, Netherlands.
The Pesthuis is a historic lazaretto in Leiden built around a square courtyard, with large halls on each side. A canal runs through the building and originally divided the sections for men and women.
The building was constructed between 1659 and 1662 in response to plague outbreaks that had repeatedly hit the city. By the time it was finished, the epidemic had already faded, and it never served its original purpose.
Above the entrance hangs a carved relief by Rombout Verhulst from 1660, showing the plague through symbolic figures. Visitors can see this work up close and get a sense of how people in that era understood and feared disease.
The Pesthuis sits in a residential area just outside the center of Leiden and can be reached on foot from the train station. The building was renovated in 2019 and now contains public spaces that are open to visitors.
From 1949 to 1989, the building housed the Dutch Army and Weapons Museum Generaal Hoefer, a very different purpose from caring for the sick. It later became part of the Naturalis museum complex before eventually being converted into a mixed residential and community space.
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