Val-Dieu monastery
| Val-Dieu Cistercian Abbey | |
|---|---|
 Gatehouse of the Val-Dieu monastery |
|
| location |
Belgium Province of Liege |
| Coordinates: | 50 ° 41 ′ 52.5 " N , 5 ° 48 ′ 18" E |
| Serial number according to Janauschek |
459 |
| Patronage | Notre Dame |
| founding year | 1185 |
| Year of dissolution / annulment |
1796 |
| Year of repopulation | 1844 |
| Year of re-dissolution | ( 2001 ) |
| Mother monastery | Eberbach Monastery |
The Val-Dieu Monastery (Latin Abbatia Vallis Dei ; Old Dutch: Goidsdaele ; German Gottesthal Abbey ) is a monastery complex of a former Cistercian abbey located about 4 km west of the municipality of Aubel in the Belgian province of Liège .
history
In the 12th century, the first Cistercian monks came to the then Principality of Liège and founded the Hocht Abbey in Neerharen , not far from the city of Maastricht , as a subsidiary of Eberbach Monastery .
The establishment of the Abbey of Val-Dieu became possible in 1216 after a donation from the Duke of Limburg and Count of Daelhem by monks from the Hocht Monastery. It was built on a site near Aubel, in the fertile valley of the Berwinne river. It thus belonged to the filiation of the Clairvaux Primary Abbey .
The monastery initially prospered, but suffered a crisis towards the end of the 13th century. Until 1625, the monks had to retreat to their refuge in Visé , 15 km away , because in 1575 the abbey was set on fire by (Protestant) Dutch troops. In 1796 it was secularized . The last abbot Jakob Uls acquired part of the buildings (including the abbey church ) in 1805 , which later fell to his heirs.
In 1840 the last conventual of the old abbey, Bernhard Klinkenberg from Aachen, succeeded in acquiring the building again, after which Val-Dieu could be repopulated by Cistercians from Bornem in 1844 . Father Klinkenberg became abbot and re-founder of the abbey. The abbey church was rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style towards the end of the 19th century and consecrated in 1884. Some architectural elements from the 13th century have been preserved, such as the Romanesque death gate, the sacristy and two chapels. The tower was not added until 1934.
Until 2001 the monastery was inhabited by monks. Today a Cistercian lay community lives and works here. Her main tasks are the care of prayer and inner monastic life, the care of pilgrims and retreats .
In the in-house brewery , several abbey beers have been brewed again since 1997 , which are marketed nationwide in retail stores as well as in the monastery shop next to the brewery.
The monastery was used as a location for the crime series Wilsberg in the episodes In the Name of Rosi and God's Work and Satan's Coal .
former Cistercian monastery Val Dieu in the Berwinne valley
Abbey of Val-Dieu
Val-Dieu Triple monastery beer
literature
- Ruwet: L'abbaye cistercienne de Notre-Dame du Val-Dieu . o. O., o. J. (with plan).
- Bernard Peugniez: Routier cistercien . Editions Gaud, Moisenay, 2nd edition, p. 477, ISBN 2-84080-044-6 .
- Minke: Quick art guide . 2338, 1998.
