Church of the Presentation of Our Lady

As you step inside the beguinage of Ter Hoyen, you encounter an architectural delight: a monumental church rises from a green expanse of parkland, surrounded by stately trees and a mosaic of beguines’ houses and convents concealed behind white brick walls. It is not often you find such a large church in a beguinage.

Hooie or Hoye is the name of the meadowland that once stretched between the lower Scheldt river and the Muinkmeersen marshes, and between two gates of the city, the ‘Hooipoort’ and the ‘Vijfwindgatenpoort’. This is where Joan of Constantinople, Countess of Flanders, founded the beguinage in 1234. Dedicated to Mary, the name Our Lady Ter Hoyen reflects this location. A chapel was built here around 1262. The following year, the chapel was consecrated by the Bishop of Tournai. Countess Margaret granted it the same privileges as other churches. Historical iconography shows the place of worship as a four-bay hall church. In the 1534 city plan, it is shown with no apse or choir, although in reality it would already have had an apse and side aisles at the time, given that records from the 14th century refer to masses organised in the choir.

The current, late Renaissance beguinage church dates from the 17th-18th century and is dedicated to the Presentation of Our Lady. The name of the church is represented by the painting on the left-hand altar by Nicolas De Liemaecker (1644). In contrast to the more austere side façades, the 1720 Baroque front façade catches the eye. Along with St Peter’s Abbey, it is one of the highlights of Baroque Ghent. It marks a victory of the Counter-Reformation, and also a personal victory for the prioress, Isabelle Françoise van Hoorebeke.

The beguinage of Ter Hoyen is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

 

In one word: Piety

History of a church

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From 1 April to 1 November: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays: from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
On Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays: from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

From 2 November to 31 March: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Saturdays from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

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