Great Beguinage, Brussels
| Great Beguinage of Brussels | |
|---|---|
Great Beguinage of Brussels, engraving by Jacobus Harrewijn, published in Chorographia Sacra Brabantiae (1727)[1] | |
| Alternative names | Our Lady of the Vineyard Beguinage |
| General information | |
| Type | Beguinage |
| Location | Brussels, Belgium |
| Construction started | 13th century |
| Closed | Deconsecrated in 1797 |
The Great Beguinage of Brussels (French: Grand Béguinage de Bruxelles; Dutch: Groot Begijnhof van Brussel), also known as the Our Lady of the Vineyard Beguinage (French: Béguinage de Notre-Dame de la Vigne; Dutch: Begijnhof Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ten Wijngaard), was a beguinage in the City of Brussels. It was suppressed during the French Revolution and abolished in 1797.
History
Three court beguinages existed in Brussels during the Middle Ages; the first and largest of them was the Great Beguinage, also known as the Our Lady of the Vineyard Beguinage, which was founded before 1247 outside the city walls.[2][3] Located near today's Place du Béguinage/Begijnhofplein, the community composed a miniature village of individual dwellings with a mill, laundry, and flower and vegetable garden enclosed within a wall.[4][5] The beguines were lay women who lived a communal life but were not bound by perpetual vows. They built an infirmary and a small chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Vineyard served as a place of worship.[6]
Because their community had grown to 1,200 beguines by the end of the 13th century, a larger Gothic church was built where the present-day building is located. The women weaved wool, and from the 16th century onward, made lace. From the start, the Rue du Béguinage/Begijnhofstraat ("Beguines Street") formed the main axis of this large triangular domain of which the Rue de Laeken/Lakensestraat ("Laeken Street") formed the base. The area between the Rue de Laeken and the Quai au Bois à Brûler/Brandhoutkaai was known as the Beguinage Quarter at that time.[4]
The Great Beguinage was looted in 1579 by Scottish auxiliary troops as part of the larger Beeldenstorm.[7][3] The beguines were dispersed in 1797 during the French regime.[8] The grounds were parcelled out gradually and streets laid out.[4] The infirmary was renovated and transformed into the Grand Hospice Pachéco. The last houses of the beguinage disappeared in 1856.[4]
See also
References
Citations
- ^ "Le Béguinage à Bruxelles, vu de la rue de Laeken / Musée de la Ville de Bruxelles – Inventaire du patrimoine mobilier". collections.heritage.brussels (in French). Retrieved 23 January 2026.
- ^ Mardaga 1989, p. 104.
- ^ a b "Begijnhof – Inventaris van het bouwkundig erfgoed". monument.heritage.brussels (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 January 2026.
- ^ a b c d Mardaga 1989, p. 105.
- ^ Simons 2003, p. 51.
- ^ Mardaga 1989, p. 106.
- ^ Vanden Bossche, Hugo. "Deel 4: Begijnhofkerk Sint-Jan-de-Doper" (PDF). Begijnhofkrant (49).
- ^ Mardaga 1989, p. 104, 106.
Bibliography
- Simons, Walter (2003). Cities of ladies: Beguine communities in the medieval low countries, 1200–1565. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-1853-4.
- Le Patrimoine monumental de la Belgique: Bruxelles (PDF) (in French). Vol. 1A: Pentagone A-D. Liège: Pierre Mardaga. 1989.
External links
- Media related to Great Beguinage, Brussels at Wikimedia Commons