Sint-Jan-de-Doperkerk (Saint John the Baptist Church) is situated within the Groot Begijnhof.

The construction of the current Early Gothic church was started in  1305 and was completed between 1421 and 1468. The Saint John the Baptist Church is built in the local Rural Gothic style of Leuven but also has several Roman chatacteristics, such as heavy buttresses, small upper windows and a terraced tower. The lack of spires is reminiscent of the mendicant orders and the convents. During recent restorations, numerous frescoes from the 14th, 15th and 17th centuries were uncovered.*

As I wandered around the cobbled streets of the Begijnhof I found the sound of the carillon’s bells quite charming and delightful.

*From the Out and About in Leuven walking guide

Founded in around 1230, the Groot Gegijnhof was one one of the largest beguinages in Belgium and home to several hundred beguines. The complex of 72 charming red-brick cottages, dating mostly from the 17th century, is set around grassy squares and cobbled streets near the River Dijle. The university in Leuven bought it in 1962 and converted the cottages into student accommodation.*

Flanders is famous for the number of its surviving enclosed residences for Beguines, unmarried or widowed women who adopted a life of religious devotion but without taking the full vows of a nun.**

Beguines were initially solitary women who worked helping the poor and preaching. Progressively, and in the face of growing suspicion on the part of male religious authorities, they grouped together to live in a walled residential community know as a Beguinage (French) or Begijnhof (Dutch). The first Beguinage in Belgium appeared in Mechelen in 1207.

Beguinages were formed across the southern Netherlands from the 12th century onwards. Of the 100 that existed in the 14th century, around 25 remain.**

Beguines lived in solitude in separate small houses. They divided their time between prayer, manual work (sewing or lace-making) and taking part in collective Beguinage events, such as religious services and processions. Some Beguinages selected their members on the basis of social status; others were open to all, and numbered their inhabitants in thousands.

Beguines have been described as the earliest women’s movement in Christian history, a community of financially independent women who existed outside the church and the home, the only acceptable domains for women at the time.

The male counterparts of Beguines were known as Begharads, and were usually of humble origin. Similar to Beguines in that they were not bound by vows and did not follow a uniform rule of life, they differed in that they had no private property, lived together in a cloister and ate at the same table.**

*Belgium & Luxembourg Eyewitness Guide

**Bruges Smart Guide, Insight Guides

In the Middle of the 12th century, this church of the former Saint Gerturde’s Abbey was nothing more than a simple but impressive prayer room. The church was built between the 13th and 15th century. In the church you can find remarkable late Gothic choir stalls. The open spire known as the ‘tower’ without securing pins’ is one of the seven wonders of Leuven because it’s entirely made of stone.*

Unfortunately the church was closed on the day we visited this area of Leuven and we didn’t have chance to revisit when it was open. A sign on the side of the church tells us more about Saint Gertrude’s Abbey.

Augustine Abbey, limited to twelve regular canons of noble descent. The church, which was also a parish church, was built from the 14th to the 16th century.

Remarkable tower with openwork stone spire by architect Jan Van Ruysbroeck (1453). Houses an 18th century Van den Gheyn carrilion.

The Abbey was closed in 1796. The buildings were divided into parcels and were subsequently used as industrial estates.

In 1919 it became a Benedictine abbey. The buildings were repaired and completed with amongst others the Thiery wing, a highly imaginative reconstruction of facades of the city that had been destroyed by fire during WWI. The church and abbey were seriously damaged in WWII. Today it is a mixed destination: administration and housing.

*Information from Church & Co leaflet

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.

Today was the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and Mr C planned to spend the day on the battlefield. I was disturbed out of my sleep when he woke up earlier than usual and started to get things ready for his day out. After breakfast Mr C caught the train to Waterloo and I set off on a short walking tour to take in a few points of interest in Leuven.

The first stop on my route was a visit to St Anthony’s Church again, hoping to experience it alone in silence. The church itself was empty so I sat a while in the silence but the crypt had other visitors so I departed and made my way to the next place on my itinerary, the River Dijle Park. On my way to the park I came across the Dijle Duck fountain which is supposedly a good luck charm! If you rub your hand over its back three times, grab a hold of its tail with your little finger and then walk around the fountain until you reach the black button on the ground and the press the button and make a wish you will activate its powers.

Before you ask, no I didn’t…

I couldn’t quite figure out where the entrance to the park was, so I stood and pondered over the map for a few minutes. A lady stopped to ask if I needed help (how kind) ) She was able to point me in the right direction to the park entrance and I soon found the small iron bridge that was the point of my visit to the park. I wandered through the park to the Large Beguinage and on arrival I found it to be lovely and tranquil with lots of photo opportunities.

I spent a long time in the Beguinage before making my way back to town for lunch. After lunch I retraced my steps to visit both Saint Michael’s Church (the Jesuit church we walked past the previous day) and also St John the Baptist Church which is situated within the Large Beguinage. After enjoying the interior of both these churches I spent more time in the Large Beguinage before making my way back to St Anthony’s Church. I knew that on this occasion that I would have the crypt to myself. It was so peaceful

After my visit to the church, I made my way back into town and visited the Hush Puppy shop, in which I had been window shopping each evening as we walked back to the hotel after dinner. I came away with a pair of sandals and headed back to the hotel to drop them off in the hotel room. By this time my feet were rather sore from walking all day on the cobbled streets so I elected not to go back out.

I researched restaurant options for dinner, then freshened up and went down to the hotel bar with my book in order to wait for Mr C’s return from Waterloo. When he arrived he joined me for a drink before we made our way into town for dinner. The restaurant we chose had good food but towards the end of the evening the service was lacking in due care and attention.

The Buddha

We had another lazy start to the day and after breakfast we decided not to venture into the garden just in case we got locked in again. Instead Mr C decided to walk me to the Botanical Gardens so I could enjoy them whilst he made his way to the station to buy train tickets to Waterloo for the following day. After quite a long walk which he was directing, I said ‘Are you sure we are going in the right direction?’ I thought the garden was not far from the hotel.

During the walk we came across the lovely and peaceful church of St Anthony with the tomb of Saint Damien of Molokai in the crypt below. We also walked past Saint Michael’s Church which is considered to be the main Jesuit church in Belgium. Eventually we got back on track and found the Botanical Gardens (not far from the hotel) which I found to be an oasis of calm contrasting with the hustle and bustle of the city.

When Mr C returned from the station with the appropriate train tickets I showed him round the garden before we went to find a cafe for lunch. After eating we walked to the Small Beguinage which was once housing for Nuns but now after restoration had become homes to private individuals. Unfortunately St Gertrude’s Abbey which is situated next to the Beguinage is only open at weekends so we did not have the opportunity to see inside. We made our way back to the hotel along the River Dijl and stopped off at the Dijl terrace which is a stepped seating area. We noticed an unusual lady who appeared to be sunbathing!

Once back at the hotel we were disturbed by Mr C’s mobile phone. The interruption turned out to be an annoying and disappointing phone call. Once again I got the urge to throw the mobile phone into a nearby waterway!

After freshening up we made our way to the restaurant of choice for the evening where I chose salmon, potato and salad for my main course. For dessert we shared an intriguing sounding dish of strawberry soup,basil ice cream and tiramisu cream. It was delicious!  We then made our way back to the hotel for a nightcap before retiring to our room for the night.

Jacques Francquart and Pieter Husseyns designed this imposing baroque church (1629 – 1647), which reflects the one-time wealth of the Large Beguinage.  The paintings feature several female saints, evidence of the devotion of the beguines.*

*From the signboard in front of the church.

After a good nights sleep we ventured downstairs for breakfast. The breakfast room is quite stunning. It is situated in what was the choir of the church.

The breakfast buffet was one of the best I have ever seen. There was a decadent option of having a glass of Cava to put you in the mood for the day ahead. I chose not to indulge so early in the morning After the refreshing breakfast we ventured into to town to find the tourist information office. We failed and as it was raining we moved onto plan B.

We visited St Rumbold’s Cathedral with its wonderful architecture, artworks and stained glass windows. I found it a little sad to see that parts of it are crumbling and in need of a little TLC.

When we left the Cathedral the rain had stopped so we went for a stroll to find the Beguinages. We managed to miss the Beguinages too and ended up by the kazern Dossin museum and military barracks where Jews were held awaiting deportation during WW2. The museum was excellent and thought provoking. It invited the visitor to ask questions and look for answers.

After our visit to the museum we strolled back in the direction of the hotel and we managed to find the Beguinages that were being illusive earlier in the day. The Beguinage Church was shrouded in scaffolding rather spoiling the ambiance. Several other buildings in the city (including the Cathedral) are also currently subjected to portions of scaffolding.

After exploring the Beguinages we made our way back to the hotel to freshen up before venturing back out into the city for another excellent dinner. Our journey took us past the brewery.

After dinner we retired to the hotel for nightcap in the hotel bar.