Lier Béguinage

Lier, Belgium

Béguinage of Lier is today a walled village in the community and consists of 162 buildings and St. Margaret's Church. One of the four entrances to the beguinage is a renaissance gate surmounted by a statue of the Holy Begga. Lier Béguinage was founded in the 1258, when three sisters decided found a place for spiritual women. About 200 years later, the beguinage was grown and had a church, hospital and three monasteries. Beguinage was damaged by fire in 1485, 1526 and 1542. Baroque gate was built around 1690. St. Margaret Church Baroque façade is from the 1600s.

During the French Revolution Lier Beguinage was confiscated and sold. In the 1990s, large parts of houses were restored. Today Lier Béguinage is one of Flemish Béguinages described as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Pompstraat 2, Lier, Belgium

See all sites in Lier

Details

Founded: 1258
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Belgium

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Lier Town Hall (0,4 km)

St. Nicholas Church (34,6 km)
La Grand-Place (34,7 km)
Brussels Town Hall (34,8 km)
Antwerp City Hall (15,7 km)
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (35,1 km)
Cathedral of Our Lady (15,5 km)
Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg (35 km)
Royal Palace of Brussels (35 km)
Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon (35,3 km)

User Reviews

Nanita (2 years ago)
There are more than a dozen unesco world heritage sites in Belgium, many in Flanders including the begijnhof in Lier. It took locals to explain the history of the begijnhofs, of which there are several spattered around the region. The area itself in Lier is peaceful and well-maintained, very pleasant place to walk around. Upon learning the history, it shed a new light on what we were seeing there and in other Flemish towns / cities. Tip: read up on the history before you go.

Omar Cruz (2 years ago)
Very Nice Place to visit ?? When we were there a film was recorded in that place ?

Koen Ruymaekers (3 years ago)
Definitely worth a look around. Make sure you read about the background before you go. There's so much history you'll walk straight past if you don't. Or try to organise a guide tour.

Michael Job (3 years ago)
Beautiful buildings and quite streets. My visit was in March so maybe that would explain the quite streets. Very easy to get around from the station.

alexandre D (3 years ago)
Berry nice Béguinage. A very peaceful place

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