Begijnhof Ter Hoye
Protected area · Flanders
Checked
This walled beguinage, founded in 1235 by the Countess of Flanders, is considered the best-preserved beguinage from before the French Revolution. Hidden behind a long street wall, it shelters around a hundred small houses, a baroque church, and a quiet meadow that was once its cemetery. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, it's still lived in today, with the old infirmary now hosting art studios and exhibitions.
The compound takes its name from the 'Groene Hooie', the green meadow it was built on between two of Ghent's old city gates, the Hooipoort and the Vijfwindgatenpoort. The community reached its peak in the 17th century, when its church was rebuilt in stone between 1654 and 1658 and later given a Baroque facade, and it weathered the Iconoclastic Fury of 1566 and the Calvinist Republic that followed. Ownership passed to the German Duke of Arenberg in 1862; stripped of his rights after the First World War for his nationality, he saw the beguines themselves buy back the whole complex in 1925. Beguine life here ended in the early 2000s, after nearly eight centuries.
What you see
A single neoclassical gate, added in 1819, breaks the long street wall as the only way in.
Practical
Free to enter; the courtyard and garden are open to the public during the day, though the houses lining it remain private homes.
beguinageunesco heritagereligious artwalled garden