Now a gallery of precious religious art, the Maagdenhuis was an orphanage and child refuge from 1553 to 1882 and also houses some fascinating objects from this time, including a collection of majolica (glazed ceramic) porridge bowls. Notice a few cut playing cards? They were snipped in half when girls were brought to the refuge by impoverished parents unable to feed them: one piece was retained by the parent and the other kept with the child as an identification token.
