Begijnhofkerk, Baroque church in Mechelen, Belgium

Begijnhofkerk is a Baroque church in Mechelen with a three-tier facade of pale tan and cream stone, topped by a gable with volutes and a cross. The lowest tier has a round-arched blue double door framed by pilasters and a niche with a standing figure; the middle tier an arched tracery window with flanking columns; the top tier a relief of God the Father (1646–1647), attributed to Lucas Faydherbe. Inside, round-arched arcades on piers separate nave and aisles.

The Beguines settled near the present Begijnenstraat in the 13th century, moved outside the walls after 1259, and returned to the Nonnenstraat area after the religious troubles of the 16th century. Pieter Huyssens drew plans for the foundations in 1629, and Jacob Francart took over; the shell was finished in 1637. Lucas Faydherbe continued the interior after Francart withdrew in 1645 and is credited with the God the Father relief (1646–1647). French revolutionaries sold the church, which was returned to the Beguines in 1804.

The church served the Beguines, lay women who took no formal vows; its paintings show saints they favoured, such as Alexius, Catherine, Damianus and Begga, chosen for their ascetic lives. The Beguines commissioned works from leading Southern Netherlandish painters of the 17th century, including Jan Cossiers and Theodoor Boeyermans. About fifty of these paintings survive, and they are regularly rotated.

The church can be visited every day except Monday, from 1 p.m. onwards. The facade was partly restored at the start of the 21st century, so the lower tiers of Corinthian and Doric half-columns are the best-preserved part to examine up close.

The paintings in the church are regularly swapped around, so works by Jan Cossiers, Theodoor Boeyermans, Quentin Metsys and Gaspar de Crayer appear in changing positions. The high choir holds works by Jan Van Der Steen, and Lucas Franchoys the Younger's 1672 Assumption of Mary hangs behind the altar.