We went to Louvain and climbed the tower of the library.
Large parts of the town were destroyed during the wars,
but the Large Beguinate is still around.
Beguines were women who decided to enter a religious community without taking vows.
The ladies experienced a lack of candidates for marriage because of the crusades...
... but were wealthy enough to group together.
They lived in nice quarters...
...and devoted most of their lives to charity.
What is so extraordinary is that the buildings are still around today.
Today the University of Louvain took over these buildings.
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