Sint-Jan Baptist ten Begijnhof kerk

The Sint-Jan Baptist ten Begijnhofkerk is a church located in the center of Brussels in the middle of a beguinage. In the 13th century, the first beguine house of the beguine community of St. John Baptist was built on this spot. Around it stood houses for about 1,200 beguines, a community of unmarried women who wanted to dedicate their lives to their religion. At the end of the 13th century, the community had grown to the point that a large church was needed. A large Gothic church was then built on the site of the current church. At the end of the 16th century the church was looted and destroyed by Calvinists. The current church was built between 1657 and 1676 and the beguine community grew into the largest in the country. In the church you will find numerous paintings, wooden statues and a baroque pulpit made of oak wood in 1757. The church shows many features of the Flemish Baroque style both on the outside and inside the church.