Godshuis De Pelikaan: The Pelican of Selfless Charity

Why is it significant?

Pause along the tranquil canal street of Groeninge before the charming brick gateway of Godshuis De Pelikaan at number ninety.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Pause along the tranquil canal street of Groeninge before the charming brick gateway of Godshuis De Pelikaan at number ninety. Founded in seventeen fourteen by wealthy merchant Engelbertus Peere, this picturesque almshouse complex sits right beside the canal, sheltering seven immaculate cottages arranged around a leafy gravel courtyard. The cottages face inward toward a central garden of manicured boxwood hedges and blooming roses, completely insulated from the pedestrian traffic along the Groeninge canal.

Look above the central archway to spot the finely carved stone relief that gives the complex its name: a mother pelican piercing her own breast with her beak to feed her hungry chicks with drops of her own blood. In medieval and Renaissance Christian symbolism, the self-sacrificing pelican represented the supreme emblem of Christ's charity and selfless love for mankind.

Step softly through the portal into the courtyard, where gravel pathways crunch beneath your shoes and climbing roses frame leaded-glass casement windows. The cottages feature steep tiled roofs, dormer windows, and miniature chimneys that look as though they were plucked straight from a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm.

Peere decreed in his foundation charter that the cottages should be reserved exclusively for poor elderly women over the age of sixty, who received a free home, a weekly allowance of fresh butter, bread, and coal for winter heating. The peaceful courtyard remains one of the quietest and most photogenic hidden corners in all of Bruges. Just beyond the high garden wall, canal boats glide quietly down the Groeninge waterway, their passenger commentary whispering softly across the peaceful cobblestones. The resident elders maintain active relationships with local schools, passing down the traditional oral folklore and lace-making arts of old Flanders to new generations.

Follow Groeninge westward toward the Dijver, cross the canal, and walk down Wijngaardstraat to the open swan reserve of Wijngaardplein.