View of the Beguinage of Tongeren

Like many cities in Flanders, Tongeren also saw the phenomenon of the Beguines emerge in the thirteenth century. After first living just outside the city, as everywhere else, they were allocated a piece of land that then fell within the city. The beguinage is named after Saint Catherine, one of the favorite saints of the Beguines. Diest, for example, also has a St. Catherine beguinage. And here too there is a St. Catherine's Church and the beguinage is one of the "urban type" (with a street pattern instead of around a square as in Bruges). Free parking close to the sports park and easy to combine with a visit to the nearby Moerenpoort, De Kevie nature reserve and Tongeren itself.

The beguinage of Tongeren is – almost certainly – the oldest in the province of Limburg. Since 1257, it has nestled comfortably around the St. Catherine's Church, on the banks of the Jeker and in the shadow of the Moerenpoort. But its history goes back even further. Because at the Sint-Truiderpoort, close to the St. James' Hospital, founded between 1050 and 1095, stood the 'original' beguinage. In that case, Tongeren was probably the first to have a beguinage in the Netherlands. In any case, the beguinage of Tongeren has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1998, together with twelve other Flemish beguinages, including Turnhout. Want to know more about the beguinage of Tongeren? Click through to vriendenbegijnhof.be/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Begijnhof-van-Tongeren-het-oudste-begijnhof-van-Limburg-BK32-2011.pdf

Worth the effort to be with the beguines...