The farmstead of the Seven Sleepers

The farm of the Seven Sleepers in Goedestraat was an income for the Godhouse of the Holy Trinity or of the Seven Sleepers in Leuven. This Godhouse was founded in 1437 by Jan Keynoghe, a councilor of Leuven. By his will of April 5, 1460, Jan Keynoghe bequeathed his farm in Meerbeek to the foundation of the Seven Sleepers. In 1692, Peeter Neefs rented this farm. His son Gilles Neefs and his grandson Jan Neefs, councilor of the barony of Meerbeek, succeeded him on this farm. The daughter of the latter, namely Anna-Maria Neefs, married Peter Vanden Eynde, and thus the Vanden Eynde family came to the farm of the Seven Sleepers. At the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century, the farm was important for sheep farming. In 1702, it had 100 sheep. The asymmetrical barn dates from the late 18th century. Carolus Vanden Eynde lived as an old bachelor with his blind elderly sister on the farm, which had significantly declined. In 1876, he transferred the farm to Michel Vrebos. The Vrebos family inhabited the farm of the Seven Sleepers until a few years ago. The living and stable area faced the street with its side wall. The barn and the horse stables formed an L-shaped block against the Goedestraat. The farm still belongs to the OCMW-Leuven. Some buildings are still from the 18th century, and the barn with the round-arched entrance gate as well as the access gate to the inner courtyard remain impressive.
Bibliography

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F.MAES. Meerbeek en zijn verleden -Eigen Schoon en De Brabander, 1960.

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J.JANSEN. Fotorepertorium van het meubilair van de Belgische bedehuizen. Provincie Brabant. Kantons Leuven I en II. Brussels, 1980, p. 113-114.

H. VANNOPPEN. Honderd Kortenbergse gebouwen. Op stap door tien eeuwen verleden. Boek en Vorm. Winksele, 1999, p. 129-130.

Gemeente Kortenberg