The Groot Begijnhof of Leuven is a well preserved beguinage and completely restored historical quarter containing a dozen streets in the south of downtown Leuven. About 3 hectares (7.4 acres) in size, with some 300 apartments in almost 100 houses, it is one of the largest remaining beguinages in the Low Countries. It stretches on both sides of the river Dijle, which splits into two channels inside the beguinage, thus forming an island. Three bridges connect the parts of the beguinage.
As a community of unmarried, semi-religious women, this beguinage originated in the early 13th century. The oldest written documents date back from 1232. Local historians from the 16th century, including Justus Lipsius, mention 1205 as the founding date. The Beguines and the Beghards were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take formal religious vows. The name of the quarter of the beguinage, Ten Hove (Hof = Court), as well as the old name of the left river bank (Aborg = Vetus Castellum = Old Castle) seem to refer to previous settlement, possibly the court of the first Lords of Leuven. They had their own bakery, brewery, nursing home, church and bleaching fields. Beguines in the convents had to work for their living, which is one reason lace-making became one of the most important activities in the seventeenth century.
Visit and admire the architecture of this historic quarter.