Although rather too touristy for me, Brugge is a wonderful place. We originally visited the town because It's immortalised in the opening sequence of Dorothy Dunnet's "Niccolo Rising" (which is what you get when a professional historian writes fiction). It was during the celebrations for the centenary of Guido Gezelle, and I owe the place a great debt because it was here that I first discovered the Begijns and the Begijnhof. It took until the end of 2004 for me to revisit the place armed with everything I?d learned in the intervening years. In the meantime we've visited the Begijnhoven at Lier, Dendermonde and Mechelen, which are written up already, as well as Diest and Leuven, which I have yet to post.
Brugge works hard at its old-world charm, and mostly succeeds. The canals and the old port lend the place a great character and the place is full of contrasts - the bustling Grote Markt, the wonderful parks and quiet back streets. Out of the centre to the north-east is the Balstraat area where Guido was a pastor, leading out to a series of windmills: although they're been relocated and heavily restored they're still a reminder of the time when they were needed to keep the canals wet and the fields dry. On the other edge of the old town, near the Minnewatter and approached over a canal bridge, is the Begijnhof, known as "De Wijngaard" (the Vineyard).
De Wijngaard, founded in 1230 by the Countess Johanna of Constantinople, is an enclosed Begijnhof, like the one at Dendermonde, but perhaps a little smaller. The central green is full of trees, but the small houses are distinctive and quite beautiful. The view across the green is a popular image around the town but as always Begijnhofkerk, this one Sint Elizabeth, is too large to properly photograph. Inside, the church is beautiful and has a large area set aside for private prayer. Although the last Begijn left or died in 1926, the houses are still a religious community because Benedictine sisters moved here in 1937.
As with Dendermonde, one of the houses has been turned into a small museum and a very well informed sister will tell you everything you need to know. It?s a celebration of the simple life and I found the little courtyard beautiful. We were lucky enough to get the place to ourselves for a few minutes and experience the deep-seated peace. In fact, there's a special air of tranquility about the whole place, which provides a much-needed breathing space in other, more hectic, sightseeing, eating and drinking. No wonder the place is still so well-loved by the local residents, a fitting tribute to the mysticism of the original Begijns.