Green Area the 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.
House at the Beguinage in Bruges
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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