Villers-la-Ville monastery
| Cistercian Abbey of Villers-la-Ville | |
|---|---|
| location | Belgium Province of Walloon Brabant |
| Coordinates: | 50 ° 35 '27 " N , 4 ° 31' 48" E |
| Serial number according to Janauschek |
216 |
| founding year | 1146 |
| Year of dissolution / annulment |
1796 |
| Mother monastery | Clairvaux Monastery |
|
Daughter monasteries |
|
The Villers-la-Ville Monastery is a former Cistercian monastery in Belgium . It is located in the municipality of Villers-la-Ville in the province of Walloon Brabant .
history
The monastery was founded in 1146 as a subsidiary of the Clairvaux Primary Abbey by St. Bernhard von Clairvaux founded. The first abbot of the Clairvaux convention was Laurent, who soon resigned, his successor Gérard. The construction of the monastery began under Abbot Karl, who had come from Himmerod Monastery . The abbey had its heyday in the 13th century when Arnulf von Löwen was abbot. During this time the monastery had about 100 monks and about 300 lay brothers . Daughter monasteries of Villers were grandpré abbey , monastery Hemiksem and Convent Moulins . In 1796 the abbey was dissolved; after that the building served as a quarry. In the 19th century, a railway line was built through the site of the former monastery . Restoration began in 1893 and has not yet been completed. The ruins are considered to be the largest of any monastery in Belgium .
Plant and buildings
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
The monastery was completed at the beginning of the 13th century. The roughly 90 m long church (one of the largest in the order) is in the north of the enclosure. The seven-part polygonal choir, which was completed by around 1220, and the 42-meter-long transept, each with three side chapels in the east and an aisle in the west, are the oldest Gothic buildings in the former Duchy of Brabant . The choir and north transept have round oculi. The nine-bay nave was completed around 1255 (according to other information, 1273). Pointed arches, resting on cylindrical columns, separate the aisles. Only the first two nave bays have retained their vaults. Around 1720, the church received a new, today only partially preserved western facade in the style of the time. The abbey was built around the same time. The cloister is to the right of the church. The cloister was renewed in the 15th and 16th centuries and the chapter house was completely rebuilt in the 18th century. The two-aisled refectory from the 13th century is 30 meters long and 14 meters wide. The vaulted cellar of the Konversen building is almost completely preserved. One of the outbuildings is the 13th century brewery.
literature
- Michel Dubuisson: The Villers Abbey . Éditions Gaud, Moisenay 2003, ISBN 2-84080-118-3
- Heirman / Van Santvoort: Le guide de l'architecture en Belgique , Editions Racine, Brussels 2000, pp. 466–468, ISBN 2-87386-236-X
- M.-Anselme Dimier: L'art cistercien hors de France . Éditions Zodiaque , La Pierre-qui-Vire 1971. p. 43
- Bernard Peugniez: Routier cistercien , Editions Gaud, Moisenay, 2nd edition, p. 467, ISBN 2-84080-044-6 .
