Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden

The Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden is a museum and former hofje located in Leerdam, Netherlands. It was built between 1770 and 1772 on the site of the destroyed "Kasteel van Leerdam". The hofje was founded by Maria Ponderus, the daughter of a surgeon who left her fortune to establish a hofje for women of the Protestant faith. The hofje was originally intended for the poor of The Hague, but due to her poor relations living in Leerdam, the site of the old castle of Leerdam was chosen to build the hofje.

The museum houses a large collection of paintings by renowned Dutch artists from the 17th century. The collection includes genre pieces by Frans Hals, Cornelis de Man, Dirck van der Lisse, and Theodoor van Thulden; portraits by Adriaen Hanneman, Hendrick Cornelisz van Vliet, Gerard ter Borch, and Mattheus Verheyden; still lifes by Pieter Claesz, Cornelis de Heem, Ottomar Elliger, and Laurens Craen; and landscapes by Hendrick Jacobsz Dubbels, Philips Koninck, and Jacob Salomonsz van Ruysdael. These paintings are displayed in the regent's rooms of the museum.

In 2011, two paintings, "Two laughing boys with mug of beer" by Frans Hals and "Wooded landscape" by Jacob van Ruysdael, were stolen from the museum but were later recovered.

The Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden is a significant cultural heritage site and is recognized as a national monument in the Netherlands.