Beguinage in Bruges

When I mentioned to a friend that I was interested in visiting some of the UNESCO Heritage Sites in Belgium and that one of them is the Flemish Beguinages, I was told not to waste time visiting this place. It is quite simply a group of houses. I agree with my friend but I still needed to make the journey and since there is beguinage here in Bruges, I don’t have to specifically go to another place just to visit a beguinage. In fact, a lot of other big Belgian cities have beguinages as well. The UNESCO listing of Flemish Beguinages have multiple sites across that country.

So what exactly is a beguinage? A beguinage is some sort of housing complex which house beguines. Lay religious women who did not take a religious vows. Knowing this, I don’t know what makes them so special. The houses here don’t look anything special either. I guess the idea that these people decided to live together in a single place in an idea unique to this place. Still, I don’t know if it is that special that it deserves a UNESCO listing. The housing complex is supposed to be self contained, complex with churches, green spaces and of course, their houses. From a tourist point of view, I wasn’t that impressed, the houses looked ordinary, I guess it is for me to see the cultural significance of this place.

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