The Trappist Abbey of Achel or Saint Benedictus-Abbey or Achelse Kluis (which means
hermitage of Achel), which belongs to the
Cistercians of Strict Observance, is located in
Achel
Hamont-Achel (; li, Haëmet-Achel) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. It was founded in 1977 by a fusion of the city Hamont and the village Achel. On January 1, 2020, Hamont-Achel had a total population of 14. ...
in the
Campine
The Campine ( French ) or De Kempen (Dutch ) is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It encom ...
region of the province of
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
(
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
, Belgium). The abbey was famous for its spiritual life and its
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...
, which was one of only a few
Trappist beer
Trappist beer is brewed by Trappist monks. Thirteen Trappist monasteries—six in Belgium, two in the Netherlands, and one each in Austria, Italy, England, France, and Spain—currently produce beer, but the ''Authentic Trappist Product'' label ...
breweries in the world. Life in the abbey was characterised by prayer, reading and manual work, the three basic elements of Trappist life. The monastic community came to an end in January 2021, with the last two monks moving to
Westmalle Abbey
Westmalle Abbey, otherwise the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle ( nl, Abdij van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van het Heilig Hart or the "Abbey of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart"), is a monastery of the Cistercians of Strict Observance in Westmalle in the Belgian p ...
.
History
17th to 18th century
On 30 January 1648, at the end of the
Eighty Years War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
, the
Treaty of Münster Treaty of Münster refers to two treaties signed in 1648, and forming part of the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War:
* Peace of Münster
The Peace of Münster was a treaty between the Lords States General of the Seven United N ...
was signed between Spain and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. The result of the treaty was that the Catholic
mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
was not allowed in the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
. Therefore, Catholics from
Valkenswaard
Valkenswaard () is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant. The municipality had a population of in and spans an area of of which is water.
The name Valkenswaard ...
and Schaft built a chapel in Achel which was part of the
Prince-Bishopric of Liège
The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial State, Imperial Estate, so the List of ...
. The early roots of the Abbey date back to 1686, when
Petrus van Eynatten, a son of the mayor of
Eindhoven
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,[hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...]
s of
Saint Joseph
Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...
. The community would flourish until 1789 when they were expelled from their convent after the
French revolutionary
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...
army invaded the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...
. The abbey was sold to Jan Diederik van Tuyll van Serooskerken (Utrecht, 6 August 1773-Heeze, 9 July 1843).
19th century
On 21 March 1846 the
Trappists
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...
from
Westmalle Abbey
Westmalle Abbey, otherwise the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle ( nl, Abdij van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van het Heilig Hart or the "Abbey of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart"), is a monastery of the Cistercians of Strict Observance in Westmalle in the Belgian p ...
founded a
priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...
in
Achel
Hamont-Achel (; li, Haëmet-Achel) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. It was founded in 1977 by a fusion of the city Hamont and the village Achel. On January 1, 2020, Hamont-Achel had a total population of 14. ...
(first founded in
Meersel-Dreef
Meersel-Dreef is a village in the Belgian municipality of Hoogstraten in the province of Antwerp, Belgium.
Meersel-Dreef is the northernmost point of Belgium, and directly borders the Netherlands.
Name
"Meersel" is derived from the Germanic ...
on 3 May 1838 in a former monastery of the
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...
). The abbey and its 95 hectares of land had been bought by the priest Gast from
Heeze
Heeze is a town in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Heeze-Leende, about 9 km southeast of Eindhoven.
The Heeze Castle is located east of the town. Further east and to the north lies the Strabrechtse ...
on 9 April 1845 with the support of several beneficiaries. The first beer to be brewed on the site was the "Patersvaatje" in 1852. In 1871, the priory was granted the status of
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The conce ...
and beer brewing became a regular activity. By reclaiming
wasteland
Wasteland or waste land may refer to:
* Desert or barren area
* an uncultivated area of land, whether wooded or not, whether common land or not
Art, entertainment, and media Comics
* ''Wasteland'' (DC Comics), 1987–1989 anthology-style horror ...
, the agriculture and cattle-breeding of the abbey prospered. In addition several daughter-houses were founded in
Echt
Echt may refer to:
* Echt, Aberdeenshire, a village in Scotland
* Echt-Susteren, a municipality in the Netherlands
** Echt, Netherlands
Echt (; ) is a city in the Dutch municipality of Echt-Susteren in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. ...
(
Lilbosch Abbey),
Diepenveen
Diepenveen is a village in the eastern Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Deventer, Overijssel, about 4 km north of the city centre.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1417 as Diepenveen, and means "low lying peat". D ...
,
Rochefort
Rochefort () may refer to:
Places France
* Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department
** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard
* Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department
* Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...
(
Rochefort Abbey
The Trappist Abbey of Rochefort or Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy, which belongs to the Cistercians of Strict Observance, is located in Rochefort in the province of Namur (Wallonia, Belgium). The abbey is famous for its spiritual life and ...
) and the abbey of Notre Dame de l'Emmanuel in Kasanza in 1958 (
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
)
20th century
At the beginning of World War I (1914) the monks left the abbey. The
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
dismantled the brewery in 1917 to salvage approximately 700 kg of copper. After World War II a new abbey was built between 1946 and 1952, but only two wings of the planned four were completed. In 1989 the abbey sold most of its land to the Dutch National Forest Administration and the Flemish Government. In 1998 with the support from the trappists from
Westmalle
Westmalle is a village in the Belgian province of Antwerp which is part of the municipality of Malle.
History
See history of Malle.
Tourism
Westmalle is primarily known for the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle of the Order of Cistercians of the St ...
and
Rochefort
Rochefort () may refer to:
Places France
* Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department
** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard
* Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department
* Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...
brewing started again.
Monks
* Dom
Franciscus Janssens, Ocist. 76th General Abbot of the Common Observance.
References
Sources
* J. Van Remoortere, ''Ippa's Abdijengids voor Belgie'', Lanno, 1990
External links
Achel Abbey
{{coord , 51.298778, N, 5.488572, E, region:BE_type:landmark, display=title
Trappist monasteries in the Netherlands
Trappist monasteries in Belgium
Christian monasteries in Limburg (Belgium)
Christian monasteries in North Brabant
Hamont-Achel
Heeze-Leende