Belgian architecture : introducing the ‘Begijnhofstijl’

Since a number of years we do see evolve in the Belgian architecture a new style which is inspired by the architecture of the Flemish beguinages.

So today I would like to introduce you to the ‘Begijnhofstijl‘.

First you do have to know something more about a Begijnhof (Dutch) or Beguinage (English) and its residents.

A beguinage or begijnhof is a collection of small buildings used by beguines. A beguinage comprises a courtyard surrounded by small dwellings. It is often encircled by a wall and secluded from the town proper by one or two gates.Poor and elderly beguines were housed here by benefactors.

The first beguinages were set up in the 12th century.

No country has more beguinages than Belgium.

The Flemish Beguinages have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.

For those of you who don't know, the Beguines were various lay sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic Church, founded in the 13th century in the Low Countries (Belgium, The Netherlands), comprising religious women who sought to serve God without retiring from the world. Their success was attributed due to a surplus of women after their men died in local wars. Great number of women had no option but to unite and collectively secure aid of rich benefactors. A common misconception is that beguines are nuns', which is not true.

Unlike sisterhoods that required a life spent apart from society under vows of chastity, these Catholic women looked for holiness outside monastic norms. Although they lived and prayed together within an enclave, partly as a form of mutual protection — some historians believe they banded together after losing their men to the Crusades, which left behind mainly criminals and louts — beguines were not confined to the cloister. Many ministered to the poor and sick outside their walls. Lifelong celibacy was not required either. They could leave the order and marry (but not return). The beguinages were experiments in communal living that worked successfully for centuries. But as the options for many European women multiplied after the 18th century, within the Catholic Church and beyond, the numbers of beguines rapidly declined. Belgium, which once had 94 beguinages, had only 20 in 1856; the members of the sisterhood fell by more than half between 1631 and 1828. Today, the order has only one surviving member, the 91-year-old Sister Marcella (Beguinage of Kortrijk) who lives in a Belgian rest home.

I posted pictures of some of the Belgian beguinages and in between I have shown you images of new build houses, inspired by the beguinage architectural style.

Beguinage of Bruges