Out and About with a Béguine

Did you think beguines were always so well behaved? Then come and listen...

A 17th-century beguine will take you through Leuven’s Groot Begijnhof and reveal what life there was really like. How did you become a beguine? Who chose the grandes maîtresses? And what happened when dozens of women lived together within the beguinage walls?

Did they remain faithful to their modest dress and the rules of chastity and obedience? Or did they become less strict about their vows, preferring lavishly laid tables, drink and dancing?

Don’t expect a dry history lesson, but stories, surprising anecdotes and a few juicy details. About beguines who danced and drank, mischievous boatmen, and bakers who occasionally turned the beguinage and its residents upside down.

A surprising walk packed with historical tales, colourful anecdotes and a generous dose of humour.

Come along, listen, look and discover the beguinage as you have never seen it before.

Main stops=

Great Gate, church, infirmary, bridge over the Dijle, alleyways, Convent of Chièvres