Begijnhof Ter Hoye, also known as the Small Beguinage of Our Lady Ter Hoyen, is one of Ghent's most atmospheric enclosed historic quarters. Its whitewashed houses, church, greens, and narrow lanes preserve the world of the beguines, lay religious women who lived communally without taking full monastic vows.
The beguinage is a calm counterpoint to Ghent's crowded medieval core. It rewards quiet wandering and a little context: these were neither convents nor ordinary neighborhoods, but a distinctive social and religious form that shaped many Flemish towns.