The walled garden
Statues, fruit trees and cobbles behind a gate.
Klaus Graf โ CC BY 2.5 ยท Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer) โ CC BY 4.0 ยท FrDr โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท FrDr โ CC BY-SA 4.0
Smaller and simpler than both without doubt, and not worth a special trip โ but a pleasant free silent break for those walking the old town's east (the student quarter, nearby St James's Church). Having seen Bruges' beguinage, this is its modest shadow; having seen none, this is a small quiet introduction.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet โ be the first.
Antwerp's beguinage is a hidden oasis of silence on the edge of the old town: a small walled compound of 1545 (rebuilt after the original outside the walls was destroyed) of red-brick houses around a garden, cobbled paths and a small church โ inhabited by beguines (devout women without permanent vows) for centuries, and today by families and students in complete quiet behind its gate. Smaller and simpler than Bruges' famous beguinage or Ghent's Small one, and not UNESCO-listed, but its beauty is its surprise: you step from the din of the university city into a garden of statues, fruit trees and silence, steps from the student quarter and Ossenmarkt. The church opens occasionally, the garden always by day. Ten minutes on foot east of the Grote Markt โ a short quiet stop for those who know, rarely visited by tourists.
Statues, fruit trees and cobbles behind a gate.
From the city's din to silence in steps.
Rodestraat 39, 2000 Antwerp