The Small Beguinage

A beguine community rose up by the St. Gertrude’s Abbey. This Small Beguinage is mentioned for the first time in 1272. The district consists of a street and two blind alleys where women who served in the nearby abbey lived. The small beguinage had few financial resources and the buildings rapidly fell into decay. The church, built in 1636, was demolished in 1862 and in 1954 the infirmary had to give way to the expanding Stella Artois brewery. In 2000, what remained of the Small Beguinage was thoroughly restored and sold to private individuals. Today some thirty houses in traditional Flemish style remain of the beguinage.

The Small Beguinage

8 Comments CherryPie on Jul 13th 2015

8 Responses to “The Small Beguinage”

  1. Amfortas says:

    A new word :) The wiki explanation served well too.

  2. This place reminded me of Courtray.

  3. james higham says:

    The district consists of a street and two blind alleys where women who served in the nearby abbey lived.

    The sort of place one really must explore.