page_title: Groot Begijnhof, Leuven
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Groot Begijnhof, Leuven / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: Vakwerkhuis in het Groot Begijnhof van Leuven.
context_page_description: The Groot Begijnhof of Leuven is a well preserved beguinage and completely restored historical quarter containing a dozen streets in the south of downtown Leuven. About 3 hectares in size, with some 300 apartments in almost 100 houses, it is one of the largest remaining beguinages in the Low Countries. It stretches on both sides of the river Dijle, which splits into two canals inside the beguinage, thus forming an island. Three bridges connect the parts of the beguinage. The complete beguinage is owned by the University of Leuven and used as a campus, especially for housing academics.
context_section_description: The beguinage of Leuven has the appearance of a small town on its own, with houses planned along a network of narrow streets and small squares. This is in contrast to the beguinages of Bruges and Amsterdam, where all houses face a central courtyard. The only large greenyard, on the left river bank, resulted from the demolition of some houses in the 19th century. Five houses date back from the 16th century, three of which still show timber framing. The house of Chièvres was built in 1561, in accordance with the will of Maria van Hamal, widow of William de Croÿ, duke of Aarschot and advisor in political affairs of Emperor Charles V. The characteristic tented roof with the onion-shaped top, refers to the two towers of the duke's castle in Heverlee (today known as Arenberg Castle).
  The majority of the houses dates back from the period 1630-1670. They were constructed in the local, traditional architecture, enriched with some sober, baroque elements. The facades show red bricks with sandstone cross-bar frames for windows and doors. A typical element in the beguinage of Leuven are the numerous dormers, often elaborated with crow-stepped gables and round arched windows.
  Many houses have strikingly few and small windows on the ground floor. The beguines were keen on their privacy. Houses with large windows on the ground floor used to be hidden by an additional wall, as is still the case in other beguinages.
  A few houses were replaced or constructed in the 19th century, but far less than in other beguinages, such as in Lier.
  The church is an early Gothic basilica with Romanesque elements. As usual for mendicant orders or women's congregations, it has no tower, only a flèche. Since 1998, this flèche has carried a small carillon, which plays a short melody every half an hour on 16 bells which had come from the carillon of the Leuven library tower. In 2009, 29 new bells and a baton-type keyboard for manual playing were added to the instrument. The north entrance of the church shows two Latin inscriptions indicating the foundation years of beguinage (1234 - anno domini MCCXXXIIII curia incepit) and church (1305). The east end of the church has a strikingly tall 14th century quire window, whose upper part illuminates the attic above the groin vault constructed in the 17th century. The interior is 27 meter wide (the widest church in town) containing a nave and two aisles of ten bays. Daylight is prominently present. The arcades separating nave from aisles carry statues of the twelve apostles, Mary and Saint Joseph with the holy child. These statues, as most other artwork, are sober baroque. They are accentuated by artificial shades in black paint behind them.  The restoration in the 1980s revealed 14th century murals.
caption: Timber framing in the Groot Begijnhof of Leuven
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