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 a growing suspicion on the part of the male religious authorities, they grouped together to live in a walled residential community known as a Beguinage (French) or Begijnhof (Dutch), The first Beguinage in Belgium appeared in Mechelen in 1207.

The word sauvegarde appears above the doorway to the Beguinage of Bruges. This attests to the royal protection that was granted by the Duke of Burgundy assuring the Beguinage’s independent status.

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*Information from Insight Guides – Bruges Smart Guide.