Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: beguinage

The beguinage in Turnhout was first mentioned in a document in the year of 1340; most probably lived and worked, as in other Brabant cities, Beguines before. In the 14th century the beguinage was situated at the former park around the castle of Turnhout. The oblong square of the beguinage was enlarged from the 14th century on the grounds of the castle into a small walled village. At its peak at the end of the 17th century 344 beguines lived in 86 houses. This was followed by various lows with fire disasters, looting, plague and other epidemics. Fortunately, the beautiful baroque beguinage church dating from 1662 - 1667, the chapel of the Holy Appearance and the restored Calvary Chapel remained unharmed. Once through the imposing gate building from 1700, you enter a hidden gem of this 'medieval' world with stylish houses, cobblestone streets and gardens. The beguinage has an interesting museum, located in the Sint-Jansconvent (17th century). This unique museum - opened in 1953, when still three beguines lived in the building - shows how the beguines lived and worked. The last beguine died in 2002. In 1998 the beguinage was ckassified as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Begijnhof (or officially Catharinabegijnhof Breda ) was first mentioned in 1267, but must have existed some time before that. The beguinage was moved to its current location in the centre of Breda around the year of 1535. In the 19th century, the court was expanded with a second courtyard and the single-nave St Catherine church. The walled complex of the beguinage consists of 29 houses around an herb garden with 300 different kinds of spices and lawn, which was used as bleachfield by the beguines. The last living beguine in the Netherlands - Cornelia Catherina Frijters - died in 1990. The Begijnhof has a small museum, where one gets insight into the living of the beguines. Nowadays the houses around the courtyard can be rented, but still only by single women.

The 'Prinselijk Begijnhof Ten Wijngaarde’ (Princely Beguinage Ten Wijngaarde) with its white-coloured house fronts and tranquil convent garden was founded in 1245. This little piece of world heritage was once the home of the beguines, emancipated lay-women who nevertheless led a pious and celibate life. It is the only preserved beguinage in the city of Bruges. Nowadays, the Beguinage is inhabited by the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict; the church is still fully functioning. The complex houses a beguinage museum where one can gain insights into what daily life was like in the 17th century. (PiP: entrance gate to the beguinage)

Begijnhof is the only almshouse founded in medieval Amsterdam, located within the innermost canal the ‘Singel’. Begijnhof is not an ordinary almshouse as it was not founded by private persons. It bore closer resemblance to a convent, although the beguines enjoyed more freedom than nuns in a convent. They were a group of unmarried or widowed women who lived together in a close community under a vow of chastity, but were free to leave the court at any time in order to get married. The ‘begijntjes’ (beguines) received free lodging for caring the sick and educating the poor in Amsterdam. It is unclear when the Beguinage was founded. The beguines lived in 1346 still in one house; in a document called "Beghynhuys". In 1389 for the first time is spoken of a courtyard. Begijnhof doesn’t have the small houses, so characteristic for most of the Dutch almshouses, but exist of 47 ordinary townhouses, each with facades from the 17th and 18th century (PiP 1). Most of the houses are older and quite a lot of them still have a Gothic timber frame. One of the oldest wooden houses of Amsterdam - Houten Huys from 1528 - is located within the Begijnhof (PiP2). The Begijnhof Chapel features a series of panels telling the story of the Miracle of Amsterdam. For more info and pictures about this chapel see: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/41236526 Nowadays the houses in Begijnhof are still occupied by single women. The secluded courtyard is a green oasis, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city centre of Amsterdam.

The beguines had as early as 1397 their own little chapel in the Begijnhof. After the enlargement of the beguinage a new larger chapel was consecrated. The beguines themselves paid for the restoration of their church after it was damaged during fires in 1421 and 1452. After the ‘Alteration’ (transition of the municipality to the Protestant church) of 1578 their Gothic church was confiscated for Protestant use. The English Reformed Church of Amsterdam still has its services at this location. The Beguines went without a church for a century, worshipping in their homes in the Begijnhof. In 1671 began construction of their own Catholic chapel in two of their houses, which was authorized by the Protestant authorities, but its exterior had to be hidden from public view. So it became a ‘hidden church’. It opened for its first service in 1682. The interior of the Begijnhofkapel still offers fine marble columns, wooden pews, stained-glass windows and paintings telling the story of the ‘Miracle of Amsterdam’, referring to a eucharistic miracle in 1345, which happened in the Kalverstraat, not far from the Begijnhof. See for more info and pictures of the Begijnhof: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/41236800