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:

Dendermonde Tourism

Address

Molenstraat 12, Dendermonde, Belgium

See all sites in Dendermonde

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.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historical Gems of Costa Verde

Photo from Flickr, copyright Roman Moško

Historic Site of the week

Trencín Castle

Trenčín Castle is relatively large renovated castle, towering on a steep limestone cliff directly above the city of Trenčín. It is a dominant feature not only of Trenčín, but also of the entire Považie region. The castle is a national monument.

History of the castle cliff dates back to the Roman Empire, what is proved by the inscription on the castle cliff proclaiming the victory of Roman legion against Germans in the year 179.

Today’s castle was probably built on the hill-fort. The first proven building on the hill was the Great Moravian rotunda from the 9th century and later there was a stone residential tower, which served to protect the Kingdom of Hungary and the western border. In the late 13th century the castle became a property of Palatine Matúš Csák, who became Mr. of Váh and Tatras.

Matúš Csák of Trenčín built a tower, still known as Matthew’s, which is a dominant determinant of the whole building.