St. Sixtus' Abbey, Westvleteren ( nl, Sint-Sixtusabdij Westvleteren), which belongs to the Cistercians of Strict Observance, or Trappists, is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 ...

located in

Westvleteren Westvleteren is a village in the province of West Flanders, Belgium. It is a section of the municipality of Vleteren. The core of it is a linear settlement along the N321 road. Westvleteren is primarily known for the Westvleteren Brewery ( nl, B ...

, in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

Province of West Flanders West Flanders ( nl, West-Vlaanderen ; vls, West Vloandern; french: (Province de) Flandre-Occidentale ; german: Westflandern ) is the westernmost Provinces of Belgium, province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian prov ...

. The abbey is famous for its spiritual life, characterised by prayer, reading, and manual work, the three basic elements of Trappist life. It has also a reputation for 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 ...

, one of several producers of

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 ...

in Belgium.

History

9th to 18th centuries

The earliest traces of a

monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...

presence at the location of the present day abbey date back to 1260, although the ', which is mentioned in a deed of 806 (from the abbey of

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...

), was probably located in the same area (known at that time as ''Fletrinio''). From 1260 to 1355 there was a small community of nuns on the side of the Catsberg. That site was abandoned, but between 1610 and 1784 a monastery of the

Bridgettines The Bridgettines, or Birgittines, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Savior (; abbreviated OSsS), is a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church founded by Saint Birgitta or Bridget of Sweden in 1344, and approved by Pope Urban ...

(the Order of the Most Holy Saviour) was located on what is called "Fathers' Corner".

19th century

In 1831 the

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 ...

Jan-Baptist Victoor was joined by a prior and a few monks in the woods of Saint Sixtus, and this group developed into the later Trappist abbey of Saint Sixtus in Westvleteren. In 1838 the

Westvleteren Brewery Westvleteren ( nl, Brouwerij Westvleteren) is a brewery founded in 1838 at the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus in Vleteren, Belgium. The brewery's three beers have acquired an international reputation for taste and quality; Westvleteren 12 is c ...

was founded inside the abbey precinct. In 1839 a primary school was established and in 1840 the ''old church'' of the priory was built. In 1850, a group of monks from Westvleteren founded

Scourmont Abbey Scourmont Abbey (''Abbaye Notre-Dame de Scourmont'') is a Trappist monastery on the Scourmont plateau, in the village of Forges which is part of Chimay in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The abbey is famous for its spiritual life and for runnin ...

on the barren plateau of Scourmont near

Chimay Chimay (, wa, Chimai) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. In 2006, Chimay had a population of 9,774. The area is 197.10 km2 which gives a populatio ...

. In 1871 the priory was granted the status of abbey by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

. Between 1875 and 1878 a model farm was developed as an example for the region.

20th century

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the abbey provided shelter to many refugees from the region and in addition almost 400,000 allied soldiers lived in and around the abbey.

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was a difficult time for the monastery in several respects. After the war, in 1945, the abbot decided to reduce the capacity of the brewery to produce only 4,800

hectolitre The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...

s a year. In 1964 the guesthouse was built, and a new abbey

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

was added in 1968.

Sources

* Monks of Westmalle Abbey, 1904: ''Geschiedenis der Abdij van het Heilig Hart van Jezus te Westmalle'' (p. 135). Westmalle * Van Remoortere, J., 1990: ''Ippa's Abdijengids voor Belgie'' (pp. 418–420). Lannoo * Johannes Lootens, 2012: "De Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren - geschiedenis"; Davidsfonds

External links

St. Sixtus' Abbey, Westvleteren: official website (Dutch)
{{Coord , 50.895942, N, 2.721262, E, region:BE_type:landmark, display=title Christian monasteries in West Flanders Trappist monasteries in Belgium