The Beguine convent - Belgium

The Beguines were, in the Middle Ages, either virgins or widows from all walks of life, devoted to God and who led at once a contemplative and active life. They lived off their own resources and from alms, but also earned money by doing manual labour. Banned by the papacy in 1317, they survived by remaining as a group in 'béguinages', autonomous, religious communities of houses, churches, outbuildings and planned green open spaces. The last of them closed in 1928.

The one in Bruges, founded in 1245 by Marguerite de Constantinople, countess of Flanders, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2002. The place gives off an aura of mysticism and tranquility which is reinforced by the white facades and red roofs, the green grass, the yellow daffodils and the black tree trunks growing skywards. Today it is home to a museum retracing the lives of the women who lived there, with access to the church and one house dating from the 17th century.

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