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.

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.