the building is named after the society that ran the hospital, the "st. elisabeth gasthuis", which is named after elisabeth of hungary. the society's original building, the "gangolf gasthuis", was lost during the fire of 1572 and that land is now the location of the vroom & dreesmann building on the verwulft. in 1581 the hospital petitioned the town for permission to build a new hospital while also filing for damages from the fire. they were awarded this location and the remaining monks in the monastery were forced to leave. on a map by thomas thomasz from 1578, both the burned verwulft and the monastery complex can be seen clearly. parts of the original complex are preserved, including the old regent rooms inside, though the furnishings and paintings have been transferred to the frans hals museum.