From the end of the 16th century, and especially after the Twelve Years' Truce in 1621, the Beguinage had a second flourishing period, culminating near the last quarter of the 17th century and continuing afterwards, albeit in a gradual decline, until the invasion of the anti-religious French Revolutionarists. The peak in entries occurred with a time span of two generations in the period 1650-1670, when the number of beguines reached 360[2] .[3] Near 1700, the number had already fallen back to 300, due to warfare (including the Nine Years War) and diseases. By the mid of the 18th century, the number of beguines was further reduced to approximately 250. The sudden increase in entries, followed by a long period of gradual decline, explains the homogeneity in the architectural style of the houses, most of which were constructed in the years 1630-1670. The same demographic evolution can be seen in other beguinages, such as in the nearby town of Diest, or - with some delay - in Lier (where the houses are on the average half a century younger than in Leuven). After the invasion of the French revolutionaries, the beguinage of Leuven was not sold as bien national, as happened with most monasteries and abbeys. The properties of the community were, however, confiscated and attributed to the local welfare commission (the Hospices civiles) and reorganised as civil almshouses. Beguines were allowed to continue to live in their houses but free rooms were rented to elderly and poor people. Some former clerics lived on their mandatory pension in the beguinage, among them the last prior of the abbey of Villers.
