Inside the Beguinage, a photo from West-Vlaanderen, Flanders

Photographer's Note

慘ortrijk - Inside the Beguinage�

Previous photo showed you the view from the tower of the Saint Martin's Church (Sint-Maartenskerk) in Kortrijk on the beguinage. This time here the opposite view.

The Beguinage in Kortrijk was founded in 1238. It has been destroyed several times: in 1302, in 1382 and in 1684. The 41 houses that are there now date from the 17th century.

The entire beguinage has been thoroughly restored (including new street lighting, reconstruction of the cobblestones, restoration of the wrought iron fence in the courtyard and redesign of the greenery in the courtyard). On July 9, 2021, the official opening of the restored beguinage, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, took place.

Wikipedia states about the beguinages:

A beguinage is a collection of small buildings used by Beguines. These were various lay sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic Church who sought to serve God without retiring from the world.

A beguinage comprises a courtyard surrounded by small dwellings. It is often encircled by a wall and secluded from the town proper by one or two gates.
The first beguinages were set up in the 12th century in Li鑗e, Belgium.

They are to be found in an area roughly corresponding with present-day Northern and North-Eastern France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Western and North-Western Germany.

holmertz, jhm, pierrefonds, pajaran, ChrisJ, ikeharel, Royaldevon, COSTANTINO, mcmtanyel, Fis2, PiotrF has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Silvio1953 (221525) 2021-09-12 9:54

Ciao Paul, great view of beautiful church, wonderful colors, splendid light, fine details and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

holmertz (102650) 2021-09-12 10:16

Hello Paul,
The church tower is elegant and provides a fine background where it rises high above the beguinage. But it's the plain walls of the nearer buildings that appeal most to me, partly thanks to the fine light falling on the higher parts. These buildings have a humble elegance that I like, just as I prefer plain Romanesque churches before overly decorated Baroque cathedrals. One WS gives us a nice deeper view of this place, while the other WS shows us a fine view through a gate to a building of a different style. In that photo I like the apparent tenderness of the couple watching the building.
Have a nice evening,
Gert

Tue (92322) 2021-09-12 10:20

Hallo Paul,
Een mooi gezicht in de tegenovergesteld richting. De kerktoren rijst mooi op van achter de witte puntgevels van de huizen. Het warme zonlicht laat de patronen van de bakstenen en de dakpannen mooi zien. Sowieso heeft alles een aangename, warme gloed.
Lars

jhm (211736) 2021-09-12 10:35

Goedenavond Paul,

Ik moet nog antwoorden op jouw email, komt nog.
Niettegenstaande het felle zonlicht heeft u er toch een goede foto van gemaakt.
Met de mooie kerktoren op de achtergrond maakt uw foto wel een zeer goede indruk.
Echt een plaats als begijnhof waar mooie foto's maken mogelijk is.
Het bewijs zijn uw extra foto's binnen het begijnhof.
Mooi foto werk, bedankt.

Nog een prettige avond,
John.

lousat (139220) 2021-09-12 11:30

Hi Paul,same place but pics from the ground after the magnificent full view from above of your last post. 2 excellent capture of tower and houses, and the entrance too painted in green is very interesting,a curious place well restored, now surely a good attraction for tourists. Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

pierrefonds (114395) 2021-09-12 11:35

Bonsoir Paul,

Lors de mon voyage en Belgique di 29 avril au 2 mai 2011, je n'ai pas l'occasion de visit� la ville de Kotrijk. La prise de vue permet d閠ails des maisons et du clocher de l'間lise Saint-Martin. La lumi鑢e met en valeur les couleurs de l'image. Bonne soir閑.

Pierre

pajaran (115831) 2021-09-12 11:50

Pozdrav.

Lep pogled, interesantan tekst ...
Lepa stara arhitektura, dobro pokazana sa lepim bojama, kontrastom i perspektivom.
Lep toranj sa satom i krstovima u pozadini.
Dobar rad sa lepim fotografijama u radionici.

Zelim vam sve najbolje.
Paja

ChrisJ (171822) 2021-09-13 0:02

Hello Paul,

I really regret not stopping in Belgium, which has as much to see as Holland and almost as much as France. The clocktower makes a good focal point. Good sharpness and shadow detail. Tfs!

ifege (48019) 2021-09-13 0:39

Hi Paul
An interesting one with the 3 different structures, all quite old. The detail and textures really come up great in the large view. 2 good WS photos as well.
cheers
Ian

ikeharel (113291) 2021-09-13 1:58

Hello Paul,
Probably this would be the closest POV available on the ground for a good tower perspective, though backlight was a bit on left side.
Still, the tower makes a prominent object on the main photo.
Have a nice new week,
Ike

mkamionka (74351) 2021-09-13 4:13

Hi Paul,
lovely place indeed. I like the unique design of the tower. The light seems to have been quite dispersed in this direction. My favourite pic is of the gate because the contrast level and colors are more pronounced.
Great reportage,
M

Royaldevon (85896) 2021-09-13 5:38

Hello Paul,

You have supplied us with interesting notes to accompany your fine photographs of the Beguinage.

I think this is just a museum now, revealing the historical buildings used by the nuns but am not sure if I have made a mistake and they are actually still used by nuns.
You have coped with difficult lighting extremely well and have used the light and shadows on the buildings to create a fine 3D impression.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

COSTANTINO (116421) 2021-09-13 7:13

Hello dear friend
this church tower is elegant
the beauty is into the
simplicity
the clocktower makes
a good focal point
regards
Costantino

mcmtanyel (68447) 2021-09-13 19:21

Hello Paul,
I like the simplicity of the buildings in the foreground, contrasted to the intricately decorated tower.
Regards,
MT

Fis2 (170693) 2021-09-14 0:38

Witaj Paul!
Interesting set of photos.
Beautiful architecture, tower is impressive.
I like it. TFS.
Good frames, composition and colors.
Well done.
Nice day.
Krzysztof

jean113 (27847) 2021-09-14 9:42

Hello Paul, this looks like a fascinating place to wander around.
It looked so neat in your shot looking down from a good height, and that tidiness is still very apparent.
Lots of buildings set at different angles to each other which makes for some interesting compositions.
I like the w/s shot with the two cyclists.
Very informative notes; I had never heard of Beguines before your posts.
Kind regards, Jean.

PiotrF (54602) 2021-09-21 12:41

Hello Paul,
A good view of these old houses with the church tower in the background. Interesting place, worth visiting.
Good work, fine picture in WS.
Regards
Piotr