Vlierbeek Abbey

Vlierbeek Abbey (Dutch: Abdij van Vlierbeek) is a former Benedictine abbey to the north-east of Leuven in Belgium, in the sub-district Kessel-Lo.

On the abbey site in 1127 a priory was founded by Affligem Abbey, to whom Godfrey I of Louvain had given the land on the Vlierbeek two years previously. In 1163 or 1165 the priory was elevated to the status of an abbey. The Benedictines cultivated the surrounding land, and played a great role in the spiritual and intellectual development of the area. Over the next few centuries they worked almost constantly on the abbey complex, having often to repair or rebuild what had been destroyed by fire or conflict.

In 1170 a stone church in Romanesque style replaced the first church, which was made of clay.

In 1572 the abbey was burnt down by the troops of William of Orange. The reconstruction of the abbey was spread over two periods. The first lasted from 1642 to c. 1730. The second, under the direction of Laurent-Benoît Dewez, lasted from 1776 to 1796.

During the occupation by the French Revolutionary army the abbey, like all other monasteries, was suppressed in 1796, and the monks were expelled. The buildings and contents were sold off in 1798. Jan Antoon de Becker of Louvain, brother of one of the monks, became the new owner. In 1801 the abbot and some of the monks returned, but a full revival of the community did not succeed, and the last monk of Vlierbeek died in 1838.

After the creation of the municipality of Kessel-Lo in 1828 the abbey church became the parish church for the whole of it. In 1877 the parish of Blauwput was separated. In 1900 Boven-Lo also became an independent parish. From that point the former abbey church became the parish church of the parish of Vlierbeek.

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Wikipedia