The beguinage first originated in the years around 1240, as a place where a community of pious women could live together at the edge of the city Surrounded by a moated wall and with its own parish church, it almost formed a city within the city. Of the many beguinages founded in North West Europe at this time, only a handful in the Low Countries were still in existence by the end of the 14th century. Elsewhere, they were closed by order of the pope, who suspected them of being hotbeds of heresy In 1927, the local community of beguines was absorbed into the nearby Benedictine community of nuns, who still use the beguinage as their monastery. Since 1998 the Bruges beguinage has been included in the UNESCO list of world heritage sites, as have twelve other beguinages in Flanders. On 2 December 1998 this site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, together with 12 other Flemish beguinages. In this way, UNESCO both recognised the site's exceptional universal value and expressed its commitment to ensure its protection and conservation. The Flemish beguinages are a unique testimony to the medieval mystical movement which produced them. Beguines were 'religious women', widows or spinsters who wished to live an independent but committed life outside the recognised orders with their vows of fidelity and poverty. They organised themselves in self-supported 'cities of peace', revealing architectural and urban qualities. To this day, the Bruges beguinage, with its central courtyard lined with trees and side streets, retains a religious and social function. The brick architecture, the harmonious environment and the rather closed nature of this beguinage all contribute to the charm for which it is famed worldwide.
After the death of Mary of Burgundy (1482), Bruges went through some troubled times. The townspeople, enraged by the new taxes Emperor Maximilian of Austria, Mary’s successor, had imposed upon them, rose in revolt against their new ruler. As Maximilian was locked up in House Craenenburg on the Market Square, he helplessly witnessed the torture and eventual beheading of his bailiff and trusted councillor Pieter Lanchals - known as Long Neck. An old legend says that the Emperor eventually escaped and later took his revenge on the local people by forcing them to keep ‘long necks’, or swans, on the canals for eternity. In reality, however, swans have been swimming on the canals since the beginning of the 15th century, when they were seen as a status symbol of the city’s power and wealth.
