Vlierbeek Abbey
The Vlierbeek Abbey ( ndl . : Abdij van Vlierbeek ) is a former Benedictine abbey in Kessel-Lo , a district in the northeast of Leuven , the provincial capital of Flemish Brabant in Belgium.
history
In 1125, the then Count of Leuven and at the same time Landgrave of Brabant Gottfried the Bearded (1095–1139) gave the Benedictines of the Affligem Abbey in Vlierbeek an area for the establishment of a priory . Two years later, in 1127, the first monks moved there and in 1165 the priory was elevated to an abbey. Five years later, in 1170, a Romanesque church was built. The now independent abbey flourished between 1165 and 1572 and, in addition to courtyards in Holsbeek , Geetbets , Kortenaken and other places in East Brabant, also had a vineyard on the Kesselberg. Since 1533 the abbot of Vlierbeek had a seat in the general assembly of estates ( Staten-Generaal ) of the Netherlands, which at that time was not yet divided. Having its own seat increased the importance of the abbey. In September 1572 the abbey was then devastated by an army unit of William of Orange , because the abbey had refused to supply Wilhelm's army with provisions. The buildings were destroyed and set on fire. The monks fled to Leuven and took refuge in “Hof ter Vlierbeeck” in Craenendonck. Exactly 70 years after the destruction, in 1642, the monks under their abbot Petrus Scribs returned to the place of origin Vlierbeek and built the buildings of the new abbey on the ruins of the old monastery. It then developed a second heyday from 1642 to 1796. On September 1, 1796, during the French occupation, the abbey came to an end. Since the monks did not want to give way, she was expelled at gunpoint by the French military in January 1797. The following year, 1798, the French sold the abbey buildings and the associated lands. In 1801 the abbot and a few monks returned, but it did not lead to any real revival of the monastery. Even after the French left it was not reopened. Instead, the abbey church was taken into use as a parish church in 1830 by the newly founded parish of Kessel-Lo. In later years, however, parishes split off, so that in the end the church was only used by the parish in Vlierbeek. In 1970 the province of Brabant bought the then still rural areas around the abbey buildings to prevent urban sprawl. As a result, the Kessel-Lo provincial domain was created. To the north of the abbey are the hills of the Kesselberg nature reserve, which are included in the overall concept of the provincial domain. The abbey buildings themselves are now part of the parish of Vlierbeek and the other part is privately owned.
photos
The “In den Rozenkrans” hostel near Vlierbeek Abbey
The current abbey church was built in 1776
The “boomgaard”, a walled orchard from the 17th century with standard trees. Today Hebridean sheep from Scotland graze between the trees.
Outbuilding of the Vlierbeek Abbey
The abbey quarters of Vlierbeek Abbey, built in 1776, viewed from the outside
Coach house and stable from the 19th and 18th centuries
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Kesselberg in Kessel-Lo
- ↑ Information on the Kessel-Lo provincial domain (Dutch): here
- ↑ Information on the Kesselberg nature reserve in Kessel-Lo (Dutch): here
Coordinates: 50 ° 53 ′ 31 ″ N , 4 ° 44 ′ 12 ″ E