St. Catherine's Church Beguinage Diest

The Saint Catherine Church is a typical beguinage church from the 13th and 14th century, built from iron sandstone.
The church is dedicated to Saint Catherine, whose help was invoked for burns and skin ailments.
Under the rood screen lies the grave of Nicolas Esschius, one of the most famous pastors of the beguinage.
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More information can be found at:
toerismediest.be/detail-016/begijnhof-werelderfgoed

The iron sandstone in the church comes from the quarries of nearby Zelem. The pulpit is unique: carried by four women instead of holy men as was almost always the case. Moreover, one of those four women was Mary Magdalene - and you hardly ever see her in a picture. In the photos you see a well: they had to raise the floor of the church one and a half meters due to moisture problems. It was also swamp here, just like in the nearby nature reserve. You can see that they also had to move the windows on the bricks underneath. The original floor was therefore a lot lower. The columns are made of stone from Gobertange. And you can read the rest here: inventaris.onroerenderfgoed.be/erfgoedobjecten/41618

In 1253 Arnold IV, lord of Diest, founded the Beguinage on a site on the outskirts of the city bought from the abbot of Sint-Truiden. The construction of St. Catherine's Church was soon started, which was made of ironstone in the typical Gothic architectural style that is characteristic of the Demer Valley. Source Diest online.be