GRAAF, a special place
People have been cared for at this site for centuries. In the Middle Ages, Beguines cared for the poor, sick and elderly here. They celebrated mass and prayed in the Graethem Chapel. People could also go here for care in the 19th century. The neo-Gothic chapel from 1909 was built at the retirement home that stood here at the time.
Today there is still a residential care center on this site. But the chapels are no longer places of worship. They are now part of GRAAF, the visitor center for the county of Loon.
The Graethem Chapel
Just outside the city walls of Borgloon, in the hamlet of Graethem, the monks built a Romanesque chapel around 1150. The Saints are Hospitallers: they take part in the Crusades and they care for the sick and wounded.
This chapel is their place of worship, but they are also building a hospital. Count Louis I († 1171) and his wife Countess Agnes of Metz († 1175) supported the construction of the chapel and are probably buried here.
Gradually, pious women settled around the Graethem Chapel. Around 1258 there was a beguinage in Borgloon.
In 1802, four Beguines were still alive.
They are moving because their home is being converted into a retirement home. Today there is still a residential care center here. And the GRAAF visitors center.
The neo-Gothic chapel
This chapel looks medieval, but it is not. It is over a hundred years old: it was built in 1909 as a chapel at the retirement home.
This has been a protected monument since 2003.
This is due to its architecture. The architect Pierre Langerock opted for a neo-Gothic style, with pointed vaults, colorful floor tiles, beautiful sculptures and colorful murals.
Many original elements of this chapel were preserved and were thoroughly restored for the opening of GRAAF.