Beguinage Breda, the secluded enclave beyond a gate

The Catherinastraat used to be called Katerstraat (literally Tom-cat Street, although the name was originally derived from communal arable land or "kouter"). On this curved street several noble residences dating back centuries can be found. The street is most noted for the "Walloon Church" the former Chapel of St Wendell. Next to this small church a gate gives access to the Beguinage of Breda. A narrow alley along the Gatehouse with immediately on the right the House of the Beguine Mistress.

The Beguine Church, in a typical 19th-century neoclassical style, stands proudly at the centre of the Oude Hof (Old Court). On the left the first and oldest cottages. On the right the second row of cottages built here. Both rows of cottages used to be only a single storey in height and were raised another storey in the eighteenth century.

The small Church of Saint Catharine (1838) is rather austere and also quite unadorned both inside and out. This is probably due to the Calvinist tendencies of the Patrons of this Catholic institution.

On the other side of the Old Court the former Chapel of St Wendell dominates the view. Against the side of this chapel  the Mistress' House and infirmary were built. Behind the infirmary a small courtyard was developed as a secret chapel when Catholicism was officially banned in the Republic of the Seven Provinces. The higher building on the right was the Novice House or Convent. Next to it there used to be a gate into the Valkenberg Gardens that were part of the castle grounds. These gardens were opened to the public as a park in the nineteenth century.

At the back of the row of cottages, just beyond the Beguine Church this small building with a spout gable is now a tiny cottages. It used to be the Kakhuis (literally Shit House) with the communal toilets. This statue of a Beguine can be found next to the Beguine Church.

The Rectory with its large bay windows was built next to the Beguine Church. The nineteenth century cottages of the New Court, built  in sand coloured brick, can be seen beyond the Rectory. This extension of the Beguinage was made beyond the former wall after 43 novices joined the Beguinage after 1825.

This Witch ball on an ornamental stand stands next to the church between the two Courts of the Beguinage. It is placed here so that the devil (or any other evil being) will flee this place as it supposedly can't stands its own reflection. Where the Beguine Church now stands the bleachfield of the Beguinage used to be the centre of activity for the women living here.

A view of the New Court with 9 cottages to house the new beguines. Each cottages housed more than one woman. Now each cottage has a single woman as its occupant. After 1850 a larger shared house was built next to the Rectory to provide even more accommodation.

The pump took centre stage in the Beguinage as the main source of water for the women living here. As they made their living by doing laundry, a plentiful amount of fresh water was needed. Before the expansion of the city defences in 1577 the Beguinage was located next to a moat (much like the Beguinage of Lierre). After this moat was filled-in, bleachfields were made here for the Beguines and two hand pumps were installed. Of these one remains in the herb garden. The herb garden itself was reinstated in 1970 after it had been turned into a rose garden around 1840. It now shows a wide selection of medicinal plants like this Aquilegia or Columbine.