Lamme van Dieseplein 4
In 1340 Geert Groote, the founder of the Modern Devotion, was born in Deventer. At the age of 15 he went to Paris where he studied philosophy, medicine, law and theology. After a serious illness, he preached around the diocese of Utrecht. He opened his parental home on the Bagijnenstraat to poor pious women. In 1383, a preaching ban was imposed on him and he worked on translating psalms from Latin into Dutch in order to bring religion closer to common people.
Geert Groote died in 1384; he was buried in the St. Mary's Church. A circle of supporters sprung up around Geert Groote. They went to live together and thus the first Community of Brothers of the Common Life came into being. From Deventer, many Fraternity and Sister homes have been founded, not only in the Netherlands, but also via the Hanseatic League, in Northern and Western Europe.
The Geert Groote Huis is built on the foundations of an old chapel. It holds a permanent presentation of the historical facts about Geert Groote, of the philosophical movement of the Modern Devotion and of the significance of both for Deventer.
