Typology: hospital / orphanage
Tags:
The "Huis van Alijn" in #Gent (Oost-Vlaanderen) is a medieval almshouse. Founded in 1363 by the Rijm family as penance for Simon Rijm's murder of Hendrik Alijn, ordered by Count Louis of Male with a 200-pound fine, it sheltered widows, orphans, and the poor, who surrendered immovable goods upon entry. In the 16th century, it took its current form: a gate, eight street-side houses, sixteen three-room dwellings around a courtyard, and the late-gothic Saint Catherine Chapel (1543-46).
