Begijnhof St Elisabeth (St. Elisabeth House), Flanders, Belgium
4.5 (367 reviews) Spent Ranking #2 in Leiestreek Historic Walking Areas
World Heritage and a movie site
A beguinage is a site with several small houses for beguines: religious women who lived in community without taking vows or retiring from the world. Flandres has several beguinages. In 1998 Unesco has listed thirteen of them as World Heritage sites. The beguinage in Kortrijk has been completely restored and was also used as a location for several movies, such as Rabid Grannies and Ampersand.
Address
, Belgium.
Mobile
Website
http://www.kortrijk.be/adressen/begijnhof-unesco-werelderfgoed
Current local date and time now
Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 18:10
User Ratings
4.5 based on (367 reviews)
Excellent
53%
Good
41%
Satisfactory
5%
Poor
1%
Terrible
0%
Reviews
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5Renaat D 5:00 PM Jul 14, 2015
Beguinage of Kortrijk
Protected by Unesco. Was founded in the 13th century. This was NOT a convent ! The rules were less strict than in a convent. The Beguins lived with 5 in a very small house. They were allowed to make lace and sell it. They were self-supporting. A very nice place to walk in and to take pictures of the beautifull white houses. It is like a small village in the town, very quiet to walk in!
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4hans-jaguar 5:00 PM Mar 8, 2014
Visiting the Beguinage of Kortrijk.
The Beguine of Kortrijk was founded in the year 1238 by Johanna van Constantinople. The pleasant beguinage who is the well conserved middle age part of the city, is now an oasis of peace, and this right in the middle of the busy city centre. It contains around 40 small houses built in the 17th century as well as the Saint Matthews chapel (Sint-Mattheuskapel) (1464), the Saint Anna room (Sint-Annazaal) with its round stair tower, and the Grand Mistress's house (het huis van de grootjuffrouw), which has been converted into a museum. The beguine’s visitor centre is in house number 2. The beguine is a small place to visit, but very interesting, it has several entrees, and free visit, and is also part of the World Heritage of the UNESCO. A place to see we would say, the visit can take about one hour, depending on the person.
