Beguinage

Vertical Divider

Beguinage

There are three beguinages in Ghent: the old beguinage of St. Elizabeth, called the Holy Corner, Beguinage the great Sint-Amandsberg in the suburbs of Ghent, whose patron saint is also St. Elizabeth, and the Beguinage of Our Lady Ter Hoyen in Lange Violettenstraat (called the small Beguinage). Beguinage of Saint Elizabeth is named after Elizabeth of Hungary, also known as St. Elizabeth of Thuringia.

Klein Begijnhof Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Hoyen (mały beginaż)

It is one of the best-preserved beguinages. P was founded in 1235. Over the course of 700 years it has survived many threats. In 1566 from the iconoclasts, then the Calvinist government in Ghent and the French Revolution. The 17th century was a period of incredible flowering of the Beguinage. Unfortunately In the 18th century, due to lack of funds, the situation of the Beguinage began to gradually deteriorate. In 1862, the Beguinage was purchased by the German Prince Arenberg. After World War I, he was forced, as a German, to sell the Beguinage. In 1924, the rights to the Beguinage passed into private hands.

After World War II, the Beguinage was slowly destroyed. Only when it was added to the list of monuments in 1963 by royal decree did this process stop. Since 1990, work has been underway to restore the Beguinage to its former glory. It must be admitted that this is heading in the right direction, as the Beguinage is truly impressive. On December 5, 1998, the Beguinage was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. In September 2004, the last beguine, Hermina Hoogewijs, was transferred to the monastery in Wetteren due to her health. With her departure, life in the Beguinage ceased. Nowadays, houses are rented or leased to the residents of Ghent.

The daily life of the beguines

The Beguinage has 90 houses, a church, a chapel, a dispensary, the house of the superior of the Beguines and seven convents. The entire Beguinage is surrounded by a brick wall and has a common entrance gate. There are also internal walls that separate the houses from the alleys. Behind these walls are charming little gardens. Wealthy beguines could live in houses that became the property of the beguinage after their death. Sometimes they were assisted by a maid.

The poorer beguines lived in seven convents around the courtyard. Most of the convents were built in the 17th century, in the Gothic style. They had a shared kitchen, dining room and office space. Each beguine had her own bedroom. To support themselves, the beguines embroidered lace and repaired clothes. In 1793 they sewed shirts for the French army. Some of them taught.

The cult of Saint Godelieve

In 1657, the superior of the beguines, Philipotte Dysembaert, decided to demolish the old church and build a completely new one in the Renaissance style. However, in 1660 the work was stopped. It was not until 1710 that construction was resumed on the orders of Mother Superior Francoise van Hoorebeke. This time the church was to be built in the Baroque style.
On the facade, above the main entrance to the church, there is a statue of the Mother and Child. On the sides of the figures of St. Aya and Saint Godelieve. At the top there is a cartouche with the date 1720. Inside there is a large polyptych painted by Lucas Horenbault in 1596.

The chapel in the infirmary has served its function since the mid-16th century. There was a relic here with the blood of Saint. Godelieve. In 1659, the parish priest Rahus de Scheemaecker and the superior of the beguines, Philipotte Dysembaert, gave impetus to the beginning of the cult of St. Godelieve. The blood relic was replaced with a relic of part of a skull. The cult became so strong that the chapel was named after Saint. Godelieve. Due to the increased influx of believers, in 1725 the chapel was enlarged. It has become a popular pilgrimage site for people with eye and throat ailments. At the end of the 18th century, the chapel received its current shape. Beguinage has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Address:

Lange Violettestraat 235, 9000 Gent
https://visit.gent.be/nl/zien-doen/klein-begijnhof-olv-ter-hoyen

Opening hours:

Monday-Sunday: 6:30-22:00

Fare:

Free admission

Old Beguinage of St. Elizabeth

Beguinage was built in 1234 and soon took the name of its patron saint. Elizabeth, canonized in 1236. Beguinage has its own church, a house for the superior of the beguines, an infirmary (sick room) with its own chapel, 18 convents, a laundry (for the beguines who did laundry for the wealthy inhabitants of Ghent) and a large orchard.

During the French Revolution, Ghent took over the Beguinage, as did other places associated with the church. Beguinage previously inhabited only by beguines, was used by the city during the industrial revolution as a dormitory for cheap labor arriving in the city. The conflict between the city administration, dominated by the liberal party, and the beguines was escalating. Some of them moved to the Beguinage of Our Lady Ter Hoyen (called the small one). Thanks to the financial support provided by Prince Arenberg (also known as Prince von Recklinghausen), a new beguinage was built in Sint-Amandoberg near Ghent within two years (1872-1874). On September 29, 1874, about 600 beguines moved there.

The fate of the Beguinage after the beguines moved out

After the departure of the beguines, the place became an area inhabited by the Ghent community. There was less investment in infrastructure. This corner began to lose its unique character. However, in the 20th century, the city and private individuals, under pressure from voices demanding the preservation of this unique place, began to invest in the reconstruction of the buildings of the former Beguinage. The place began to become popular. Famous artists lived at Van Aken Street 7, such as Constant Permeke, Albert Servaes, and Frist van den Berghe.

In English, this corner is called Holy Corner. This name comes from the fact that at one time there were four churches in this place: the Roman Catholic St. Elizabeth, which was originally the church of the Beguinage, the church of St. Andrew, the Protestant Rabotkerk and the Anglican Church of St. John.

The first stone house of prayer was built in the Beguinage of St. Elizabeth in the Skaldian Gothic style. In the 17th century, two reconstructions took place, which gave the church its present shape. The first one in the years 1630-1640, ordered by the superior of the beguines, Joanna Bauters, and the second one in 1682, started by the decision of the superior, Ferdinand De Bock. As a result, a pseudo-hall church was created (a multi-nave church in which the side naves are slightly lower than the main nave).

The present-day character of the Beguinage

When they moved to the new Beguinage in 1874, the beguines took the church furnishings with them. However, they left behind baroque sculptures decorating stone columns and 15 mysteries in grisaille from the 17th century (a monochromatic painting technique and images obtained using this technique, giving the illusion of three-dimensionality). One of the side altars contains a 17th-century painting by Charles Remes depicting the Dominican Saint. Dominic Guzman. He was responsible for the religious and spiritual life of the beguines in the Beguinage of St. Elizabeth. In the main altar, and more precisely in its upper part, we can see a reference to the patron saint of the Beguinage, St. Elizabeth of Thuringia. Nowadays, the Beguinage has no walls separating it from the rest of the city. You have to walk around to get your bearings. However, after a while, when we pass the old streets with many historic beguines' houses, we begin to feel its unique atmosphere.

Address:
Begijnhofdries , 9000 Gent

Groot Begijnhof Sint-Elisabeth te Sint-Amandsberg (Great Beguinage of St. Elizabeth)

September 29 In 1873 the first stone for the construction of the church was laid. A year later, a great ceremony was held to mark the transfer of the beguines to the new beguinage (called the Great Beguinage) in Sint-Amandsberg. This Beguinage is the work of the architect Arthur Verhaegen. The church was designed by Jean-Babtiste Bethune. The neo-Gothic interior design of the Beguinage is intended to resemble the image of a medieval city. It consists of three squares and eight streets around them, along which eighty houses and fourteen convents were built. A separate large house was intended for the superior of the beguines. This Beguinage is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The minimum age to join the congregation was 16 years. The novice was assigned a superior who introduced her to the life of the Beguinage, teaching her the spirit of prayer, love, humility and mortification. After at least a year, the novice could ask for permission to kleedsel. During a ceremony at her convent, she received her beguine robes. Only six months later could she be declared a beguine. The superior of the beguines, De Groot, had the decisive say here. Steedsel gave her the right to live in the congregation as a full-fledged beguine. Since 1930, the number of beguines has been systematically decreasing. The last of them, Alice Maenhout, stayed at home for some time care and died there on August 25, 2003.