1968

From a stone house to a stately reception room for the bank director

The Nutsspaarbank continued to grow and develop. Additional buildings were purchased and the head office was given a new purpose. In 1968, the bank bought the monumental neighboring building: Riviervismarkt 4. And years later also number 3. Both buildings already had a long history dating back to the 14th century.

Riviervismarkt 4 in Den Haag, naast Het Nutshuis

Riviervismarkt 3 ca. 1905 De Nieuwe Vischwinkel — Riviervismarkt 3 ca. 1905, De Nieuwe Vischwinkel, from Haags Gemeente Archief

As early as the fourteenth century, there was a stone house with a yard on the site of the current building at Riviervismarkt 4. This house was built by Jacob Heynricsz Coppier. He was the secretary of William VI, count of Holland and Zeeland, among other titles. Coppier's son sold the property in 1460, after which it changed hands several times.

Complex construction of front and rear houses and extensions

The stone house had been inhabited by Arent Ditcksz van der Hooch since 1553. His family remained owners for at least a century and a half. The original stone house was probably demolished at the end of the sixteenth century to make way for a new building. The building was then owned by Cornelis van der Hooch, the son of Arent Ditcksz, and he added the front houses to the newly built house. In 1614 he sold half of the house to his son-in-law. This created two houses: Riviervismarkt 3 and 4.

A rear house was added in the seventeenth century. During a major renovation in 1729, the house was further expanded when the owners of numbers 3 and 4 agreed on the division of the land around the buildings.

Glashandel De Wolf

At the end of the nineteenth century, more and more houses on the Riviervismarkt were converted into shops and business premises. This also applies to the buildings at numbers 3 and 4. From 1895, Glashandel De Wolf was located at number 4. At that time there was a fish shop at number 3.

In 1968, the Nutsspaarbank bought the then very neglected number 4, which had been empty for a number of years. The building at Riviervismarkt 3 was then purchased by the bank in 1979. In 1984, a major restoration of both buildings began.

Major renovation

Large parts of the former house of Cornelis van der Hooch were restored to their original state. Glass dealer De Wolf had removed walls, covered the courtyard and removed a window in the front facade for functional considerations. During the restoration, the foundations of the first stone house were found, which had a ground area of approximately 6.5 by 10 meters. Two pits were also found where waste was dumped. From the pits, archaeologists recovered, among other things, a cooking pot, a plate, tiles and a colander from the seventeenth century.

The restoration of numbers 3 and 4 was completed in 1986. From that year on, the head office at number 5 no longer served as the reception room for the director of the Nutsspaarbank, but 'the house' next door. The banking hall in the former head office turned into a mailroom and the new building on Jan Hendrikstraat (the current Ibis hotel) continued to function as a public entrance.

Read more about the restoration of Riviervismarkt 3 en 4 in this booklet (in Dutch) published by the municipality 's Gravenhage in 1988.

Part of Het Nutshuis

Since the closure of the Nutsspaarbank, Fonds 1818 has owned the buildings at Riviervismarkt 4 and 5. Part of the Ibis hotel is also still owned by the fund. Number 3 was sold years ago.

From the foundation of Fonds 1818 in 1992, Riviervismarkt 4 was used as its own office. At the end of 2020, the fund moved to the top floor of the neighboring building at number 5. Today, number 4 is officially part of Het Nutshuis and - just like number 5 - serves as a business complex and room rental location. The impressive Bestuurskamer and Directeurskamer and the cozy Tuinkamer are very popular with various organizations that hold a meeting in Het Nutshuis.