Welcome back to the LAST scene filmed in Belgium.
If you have been following the Belgian scenes, then you have probably noticed the word “Beguinage” being mentioned.
Today i want to talk about it and show you the Beguinage of Diest.
It was founded in 1253 by Arnold IV, lord of Diest.
Most of the current houses date from the 17th and 18th centuries.
The beautiful Saint Catherine’s Church from the 13th century was built of iron sandstone.
Beguinages were Christian religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries between the 13th and 16th centuries.
Before the 19th century, there were a total of 94 Beguinages in Belgium.
Cities with a Beguinage community at their peak could count more than 2,000 beguines.
Women who live in a Beguinage are called “Beguines” and the male variant is “Beghards”.
Beguinages mainly consisted of young girls, unmarried women and widows.
Beguines lived a voluntary semi-monastic life, but did not take formal religious vows, which distinguishes them from monks and nuns.
Those who decided to be part of a Beguinage promised not to marry “as long as they lived as Beguines”, members were free to leave at any time.
The life of a Beguine was an imitation of the life of Jesus through voluntary poverty, care for the poor and sick, and religious devotion.
It was also a way of protesting the wealthy lifestyle and clergy of the time (11th century), who lived openly with concubines and ignored their parishioners.

After the French Revolution, the Beguinages underwent a massive decline and gradually died out completely.
The last traditional Beguine, Marcella Pattyn, died at the age of 92 in April 2013 in the Beguinage of Kortrijk, Belgium.

Thanks for watching.
I hope to see you again in the next scene, where we continue to walk through Finland.
~Sevy