Fodor's Expert Review Groot Begijnhof

Beguinages were where unmarried women could dedicate themselves to God without taking the orders of a nun (poverty, chastity). This is one of the larger examples in the country, home to some 700 beguines at its peak. Its foundation dates back to 1232, but most of its 72 redbrick houses were built in the 17th century. The last beguine left here in the 1980s; by then, it had already been bought by the university, who set about restoring its houses.