St. Alex Beguinage

Dendermonde, Belgium

The St. Alex beguinage (1288) consists of 61 houses built around a trapezoidal courtyard surrounding a small church. The beguinage is an island of tranquillity in the heart of town.

Similarly to the Belfry, the St. Alex beguinage has been proclaimed UNESCO World Heritage in 1998. To keep the memory of the beguines alive, one small house (nr.11 H. Bonifacius) has been furnished as an authentic beguine's home.

In 1975 the last beguine, Miss Ernestine De Bruyne, died. Her former home (nr. 25 H. Begga) holds a museum of folklore. Spread over three floors and a great many rooms, visitors will learn about housekeeping, work and recreation in the lives of former generations.

House nr. 20 disposes of a detailed historical documentation centre with a specialized library, photographs and slides concerning Dendermonde.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1288
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Belgium

More Information

www.toerismedendermonde.be

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Erik Max (2 years ago)
Back to the past
Mr Van Damme (3 years ago)
Very quiet and peaceful place in the middle of the city center. Renovations are planned but not yet started. So the roads can be filled with puddles when it rains. Know that people live there so please respect their privacy. Update april 2021: renovations on the roads and surroundings are finished. The cobblestones give a very authentic feeling.
brieuc (4 years ago)
Small but very cute beguinage. However it currently undergoes a complete renovation (streets, garden, facades).
Kevin De Broe (5 years ago)
Great view
Diego Vertongen (5 years ago)
A little oasis of peace in the middle of the city. The site also contains a little museum. These is a place with a lot of history.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Clementinum

The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.

Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.