Proverbial route - Governor's house and begging house

PERISH

Fact from Sjors
When you walk through the gate, you will see the begging house on the right. The house is very crooked, especially at the front; this was caused by an earthquake!

This building was the residence of the governors (bosses of the army) of Heusden from the 16th to the 18th century. Now it houses the Historical Museum of Heusden. In the beautiful garden you can still find an old well and admire a roundhouse. There is also a sundial and a monument commemorating the 1944 Town Hall disaster. And. what hardly anyone knows anymore: a begging house!

The begging house
Now you can go to the food bank if you don't have much money to spend. In the 19th century there was something similar: if you were poor, you could go to a begging house. You were given a chain with a piece of lead on it. You could use it to get bread and other things from the church. When you died, the chain with the lead was taken off and you had lost your life. So that's where this expression comes from!

Continue the route
Walk out of the garden and turn left; back into Putterstraat. After 50m turn left into the narrow, winding Weessteegje (between Putterstraat 4 and 2). At the end turn right: you are walking along the old city canal.