Beguinage of Aarschot, Religious complex in Aarschot, Belgium.
The Beguinage of Aarschot is a fragmentarily preserved beguinage in Aarschot, Flemish Brabant, protected as a monument. Its best-preserved section, the Seven Sorrows range (Beguinage Nos. 15–19), consists of two-storey longhouses with saddle roofs and dormers from the 17th century, built in traditional brick and sandstone style with iron sandstone, cross windows and round-arched doors with oval or rectangular transoms. The former enclosed layout was lost when the Stationsstraat was extended through the site, splitting it in two; the southern part, rebuilt with old materials including a gable stone inscribed "A° 1636 14e mey" at No. 20, now serves as a retirement home.
The beguinage was founded around 1259, when Henry III of Brabant and Aleydis of Burgundy donated their barn and surrounding land near the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk. A fire destroyed almost everything in 1543 except the Seven Sorrows section, and rebuilding began around 1600 and was completed in 1635. The foundation was dissolved in 1797 during the French Revolution, and the site was largely destroyed in World War II.
The last beguine, Maria-Anna Jans, was born in Messelbroek in 1771, made her profession in 1794 and died here in 1856. The beguines lived scattered in the town before settling outside the first city wall near the Demer, supporting themselves by manual work. The south side, rebuilt with old materials, now serves as a retirement home.
The Stationsstraat was extended through the site and now cuts the beguinage into two parts, so the surviving section of the Seven Sorrows (Nos. 15–19) and the rebuilt southern part with the gable stone "A° 1636 14e mey" at No. 20 are seen separately. The southern part now serves as a retirement home.
The last beguine, Maria-Anna Jans, was born in Messelbroek in 1771, made her profession in 1794 and died here in 1856. The site is only fragmentarily preserved: the Stationsstraat extension cut the former irregular pentagon in two, and the surviving stretch is the Zeven Weeën row, numbers 15 to 19.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,417 contributors worldwide.