Beguinage Hoogstraten

The Hoogstraten Beguinage consists of 36 houses, a barn and a baroque three-aisled beguinage church, dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist.

Both the church and the typical beguinages are worth a visit

The Hoogstraten beguinage was founded before 1380. In the 16th century it was repeatedly ravaged by fire. During all that time, the court was limited to just a few cottages surrounded by a stone wall in 1534. In 1553 there were a total of fourteen houses on the beguinage. Half a century later there were only two beguines. The 'great heyday' of the beguinage lies between the second half and the end of the 17th century. The number of beguines then rose to 160, so that additional houses had to be built. They also started building a new church. From the second half of the 18th century the number of beguines gradually decreased until in 1972 the last beguine left the beguinage for good.