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Home › Belgium › The Small and Grand Beguinage Leuven: UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Small and Grand Beguinage Leuven: UNESCO World Heritage Site

January 2, 2020 | Posted in: Belgium

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When I ask you to think of spots that offer a bit of peace and quiet in cities all over the world, you probably think of parks or libraries.

The Low Countries of Europe (Belgium and the Netherlands) have something different: beguinages. Beguinages first started to appear as early as the 13th century and whether you are interested in history or not they are great to visit.

groot begijnhof

Let's start with some history: a beguinage used to house a community of religious women -Beguines– who devoted themselves to God, but not as strictly as nuns. The beguines took a vow of chastity but were allowed to keep their possessions.

The last beguine died in Kortrijk in 2013. Although the beguines are gone it doesn't mean beguinages are no longer used. Most of them have been repurposed as houses, although there are often rules you have to follow if you want to live in a beguinage, such as respecting silence.

My hometown Leuven has both the Grand Beguinage and the Small Beguinage. If you take a trip to Leuven you can't skip a visit to these world heritage destinations which have such an interesting history.
 

The Grand Beguinage

The Leuven Grand Beguinage, known as the Groot Begijnhof was founded in the 13th century (1232). With historic documents officially dating it back to the 13th century, the Grand Beguinage is believed to be one of the oldest known beguinage sites. The houses you can still see today, however, only date back to the 16th century. The last beguine who lived in the Grand Beguinage died in 1988. 

Today the Grand Beguinage – except for the church – is the property of the Catholique University of Leuven. The University rents the houses in the Grand Beguinage out to students, university employees, and visiting academics.

The University of Leuven bought the Grand Beguinage in 1962 under the condition they would restore it. The Grand Beguinage now houses a meeting center for the university community as well as a congress center for more formal university events. The restoration of the houses on the Kerkstraat was not completed until 1990. 

The Grand Beguinage is one of the most visited sights in the city and one of 13 Flemish beguinages with UNESCO World Heritage status. Steeped in history it makes for a very interesting visit. 

Tourists often combine the visit with the historic Sint-Jan-de-Doperkerk, the adjacent gothic church which houses artwork from the 17th to 19th century.
 

Gothic church Leuven
 

The Small Beguinage

Also known as the Saint-Catherine Beguinage, the Small Beguinage of Leuven is nothing more than a street with two little alleys. Founded in the 13th century, it never housed more than 100 beguines. These beguines depended financially on the St. Gertrude Abbey, which is located just next to the beguinage.

The French Revolution put an end to the Small Leuven Beguinage as it was known and in the 19th century, the church was demolished. The last beguine who lived there passed away in 1855. In 1974, the beguinage was protected as a monument and the houses were restored by their new owner, the OCMW (Public Center for Social Wellbeing).

Unfortunately, the infirmary was demolished to make room for the expanding Stella Artois brewery. Today some houses are still rented out by the OCMW while the others are private properties.

Small beguinage
 

Accomodation & getting to Leuven

Click here for an extensive list of hotel options for all budgets and needs.

If you're looking for an apartment in Leuven rather than a hotel, I recommend checking airbnb. If you found this post helpful, please consider booking your next Airbnb through my link. I'll earn a small commission while the price for you stays exactly the same. This income helps me travel independently and create new content.

Leuven can easily be reached by train from other cities and from Brussels Airport, which is the best airport to fly to if you plan on going to Leuven.

Click here for train options and prices.

Click here to find the best flights to Belgium.
 

Visiting a Belgian beguinage is a bucket list item!

Tourism Flemish Brabant has put together a bucket list of fun and quirky things to do in the province as a local;  visiting a beguinage is on it.

Each item on the list has information on where to go to check it off and you can literally check it off on the website to keep track of your score. 

If you update your progress on Twitter or Facebook, you can win a weekend break! So if you visit the Small or Grand Beguinage in Leuven don't forget to check it off!

Pretty cool, right?
 

Pin for later
Leuven has not just one beguinage or "begijnhof", but two! lA must-visit on your travels to Leuven.

About the author

The editorial team at Wonderful Wanderings brings together travel experts with backgrounds in travel writing, web development and digital marketing. The team, through their collaborative effort, provides readers with relevant travel experiences and up-to-date digital content. The vast expertise within the team ensures an informative blend of travel stories and useful online travel guides and trip experiences, built on a foundation of both industry recognition and hands-on global adventures.
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Your thoughts
  1. Yvonne says

    Thanks for sharing, hope to visit Leuven anytime soon and will definately include the beguinages!

    Reply
    • Sofie says

      My pleasure! Let me know if you need any other tips on Leuven:)

      Reply
  2. Tony says

    When I see and read stories like these, I always have pictures in my mind of what the area looked like in its heyday. Places change and people move on, but it’s always interesting to see photos of the day and reflect in the mind what it looked like yesteryear.

    Reply
    • Sofie says

      Absolutely!

      Reply
  3. Peter says

    Stayed in the Irish College at the start of the year with my family. We had a great look around the Beguinage. Very peaceful. As is the botanic gardens. Hope to visit again soon.

    Reply
    • Sofie says

      That’s cool! You’re actually the first person I “meet” that has stayed there. Love the botanical garden too. On the one hand I want to make it better known to people, on the other I don’t want it to get too crowded there:)

      Reply
      • Peter says

        I worked on the conversion of the college from a franciscan monastery in 1985/86. So it was great to go back and see it after all the years.

        Reply
        • Sofie says

          Wow that’s quite a while ago. I can imagine it must have been fun going back!

          Reply
  4. Peter says

    It was and my family really enjoyed it. We spent a day in Brussels and Bruges. Fantastic.

    Reply
    • Sofie says

      Awesome! So happy you had a good time over here. Be sure to let me know if you ever come back to Belgium:)

      Reply
  5. Peter says

    Will do. Enjoy your travels

    Reply
  6. Gayla says

    I love visiting beguinages. I like the architecture of the houses and I find the history of these communities quite interesting. The courtyards are so peaceful, too. I hope to visit these in Leuven someday…

    Reply
    • Sofie says

      I hope you do too! The big beguinage is really nice and it’s a bit away from the actual center with the restaurants and stores, so I think that adds to the tranquility.

      Reply
  7. Peter says

    Keep up the good work Sofie

    Reply
    • Sofie says

      I do my best!:)

      Reply
  8. Peter says

    You will have to travel to Ireland and post your experiences. Great place with some rain.

    Reply
    • Sofie says

      It’s on the list!

      Reply
  9. Peter says

    Don’t forget to bring a raincoat.

    Reply
  10. Peter says

    Praying that everything calms down and your beautiful country can be at peace and enjoyed by locals and visitors . God bless.

    Reply
    • Sofie says

      Thanks, but except for Brussels things are pretty much as usual over here.

      Reply
  11. Peter says

    That’s good. Hopefully things will calm down.

    Reply
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about this travel blog Hi! I'm Sofie, and on this blog, I share travel inspiration and planning information so that you can go on a worry-free trip.
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