Bank van Lening, Haarlem

The Haarlem Bank van Lening is a former city Bank van Lening that has been converted to a restaurant in Haarlem, the Netherlands.

Though Haarlem probably had a "Tafel van Leening" in the 13th century, the first mention of it in the Haarlem archives is in 1367 when Count Albrecht gave Hugen Aesuir permission to hold a lombard-tafel for four years in Haarlem. Two years later a 15-year grant was given to the Lombards in Haarlem with the same rules as Delft. In 1473 Jacques Fossuetz received permission to hold a Tafel van Leening for 10 years from Karel de Stoute. In 1543 Cesar Bouvet (Bovetus), marchant piémontais, received permission to hold a Tafel van Leening for 12 years from Karel V. The earliest location of the Bank van Lening is not precisely known, but was probably in or near the Lombard steeg, near the Janskerk.

In 1552 George Baillotes received permission to hold a Tafel van Leening in Haarlem from Karel V. He was ruined when his business was plundered during the Siege of Haarlem. In 1574 his patent was renewed by Philips II and he made a fresh start with family funds, though he continued to try to obtain reimbursement for damages suffered during the war. After the city became Protestant, Baillotes no longer paid Phillips II, but paid the Haarlem city treasurer yearly fees. In 1583 he renewed his patent for 14 years, which he sold in 1585 to Jean Laignier, a Tafel holder in Amsterdam, and to Sion Luz, a Tafel holder in Dordrecht. With the excuse of still desiring to be reimbursed for his losses during the siege, he was again granted another patent in 1589 for 10 years, but when he wished to renew it in 1599, the Haarlem council refused, since he asked a higher interest from lenders than the Laigner Tafel.

Jean Laigner was born in Lille and had two children, Maximiliaan and Sara. Maximiliaan married Catharina Goubau of Antwerp in 1594 and they lived on the Oude Gracht in Haarlem. Maximiliaan and Catharina's daughter Beatrix married the cloth merchant Boudewijn van Offenberg and they lived on the Spaarne. Sara married Laigner's partner Andries Mahieu in 1600 and they also lived on the Oude Gracht, in the oldest part of the Bank van Lening. After her death Andries married twice more and is reported living in the building on the Kleine Houtstraat, which he had extended to the Gortestraat in 1625. In 1626 Maximilian died and in 1629 his widow Catharina inherited his share. She transferred one of her two thirds share of the Tafel to her son Johan. From that moment there were three owners; Catharina, Johan, and Andries. Johan became lawyer of the Hof van Holland and married Constantia Tressel from the Hague, so his mother continued to represent him in the Haarlem business. His sister Janneke married Cornelis Ormea, a Lombard banker from Den Briel. Johan's daughter Catharina (named after his mother) would later take his place when he died.

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