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The Groot Begijnhof Sint-Amandsberg is an eight-hectare beguinage in the Sint-Amandsberg suburb just outside the centre of the
Around 1234 Joanne of Constantinople founded a small and large beguinage in Ghent, both dedicated to Saint Elisabeth. In the second half of the 19th century these fell into difficulties with the city authorities, since they were on sites needed for urban expansion. New streets were being built and new canals cut and so their isolated nature was lost. Eventually the city sought an alternative site for the beguinages outside the city centre.
Engelbert, 8th Duke of Arenberg had already bought the large and small beguinages and he also bought a site on the Sint-Baafskouter, where construction of a new beguinage began in 1873. It was fully planned by the architect Arthur Verhaegen and with a large central aisled church by Jean-Baptiste de Bethune, dedicated to saints Elisabeth of Thuringia, Michael and the Holy Angels. It has a curtain wall with two entrance gates. Each house and convent except the Groothuis has a front lawn and is enclosed by walls, with niches holding saints above or beside gates in the garden walls. It is the only
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
city of Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
. It was built between 1873 and 1874 on the abandonment of the Old Saint Elisabeth Beguinage in the city centre. There is also a third beguinage in Ghent, that of Our-Lady Ter Hooyen The small beguinage O.L.V. Ter Hooyen is situated in southern area of Ghent. This beguinage was built on the ‘Groene Hooie’, between the ‘Hooipoort’ and the ‘Vijfwindgatenpoort’. That is how this little beguinage got its name.
The his ...
.
History
Around 1234 Joanne of Constantinople founded a small and large beguinage in Ghent, both dedicated to Saint Elisabeth. In the second half of the 19th century these fell into difficulties with the city authorities, since they were on sites needed for urban expansion. New streets were being built and new canals cut and so their isolated nature was lost. Eventually the city sought an alternative site for the beguinages outside the city centre.
Engelbert, 8th Duke of Arenberg had already bought the large and small beguinages and he also bought a site on the Sint-Baafskouter, where construction of a new beguinage began in 1873. It was fully planned by the architect Arthur Verhaegen and with a large central aisled church by Jean-Baptiste de Bethune, dedicated to saints Elisabeth of Thuringia, Michael and the Holy Angels. It has a curtain wall with two entrance gates. Each house and convent except the Groothuis has a front lawn and is enclosed by walls, with niches holding saints above or beside gates in the garden walls. It is the only Neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
beguinage in Flanders.
It was completed in only two years with eighteen builders working on it simultaneously - it became operational on 29 September 1874 with about 600 beguines and its church was opened on 28 September the following year, with more decoration added the following year. It was classed as a monument in 1994 and listed as part of the Flanders Beguinages World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 1998. The last beguines died in January and August 2003 and the buildings were gradually converted to other functions, particularly for charities.
References
{{Coord, 51.0569, N, 3.7478, E, source:wikidata, display=title Beguinages Buildings and structures in Ghent