Cistercian Abbey of Bethlehem

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The Cistercian Abbey of Bethlehem (also: Bellem , Bethlehem-bij-de-duinen-in-Schouwen or Elkerzee ) was a monastery of the Cistercian women in Elkerzee, Schouwen-Duiveland , province of Zeeland in the Netherlands from 1232 to 1572 .

history

In 1156 the imperial abbey of Echternach founded a Benedictine monastery on the island of Schouwen-Duiveland , which in 1232 was placed under the control of the Ter Doest monastery . In 1572 the monastery fell victim to the Geusen . The nuns fled to Damme near Bruges and, with the bishop's permission, took over the Augustinian convent of Sint-Agnes , which only had two inmates. In 1578 they fled to Bruges, but were able to return in 1580. In 1590 the conversion into a Cistercian convent was officially allowed by the Spanish king. The loss of property led to the impoverishment of the nuns who were dependent on begging income. The last abbess was Antonia Pieters van Sevenhove (* approx. 1527; † after 1593) from 1564. After the last residents died out, the buildings were demolished in 1617. On Schouwen-Duiveland, only in Scharendijke the name of the Bethlehem Church and the “Kloosterweg” remind of the former monastery.

literature

  • Alphonse Van Kalken: Bethlehem te Elkerzee. In: Collectanea Ordinis Cisterciensium Reformatorum 6, 1940, pp. 292-298.
  • N. Huyghebaert: Abbaye de Bethléhem, à Damme. In: Monasticon Belge III, 2. Liège 1966, pp. 575-578.
  • ME Jansen-Glas and WP Martens: Klooster Bethlehem in Schouwen. Van agrarian nunnery in de Middeleeuwen tot modern landbouwbedrijf. In: Kroniek van het Land van de Zeemeermin 15, 1990, pp. 37-49.
  • Bernard Peugniez : Le Guide Routier de l'Europe Cistercienne. Editions du Signe, Strasbourg 2012, p. 435.

Web links

Coordinates: 51 ° 43 '52.6 "  N , 3 ° 51' 5.7"  E