Chimay Abbey is an abbey in

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

in the city of

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 ...

, Hainaut,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It has been the name of two or three different religious houses.

Benedictines

The oldest foundation here, in the 9th century, was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery, Chimay Abbey or St. Monegonde's Abbey (''Abbaye de Ste. Monégonde de Chimay''). This later became a collegiate foundation dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The monastery is long gone, but the church still stands in the centre of Chimay as the town's parish church.

Trappists

In 1919 a convent of Trappist nuns, Chimay Abbey or Abbey of Our Lady of Peace (''Abbaye de Notre-Dame de la Paix de Chimay'') was established here. The community, Trappist since 1878, was the successor to the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

community of Gomerfontaine, founded in 1207, suppressed in 1792 and re-established in 1802 at

Saint-Paul-aux-Bois Saint-Paul-aux-Bois () is a Communes of France, commune in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The river Ailette (river), Ailette forms most of the commune's northern border. Population ...

. It was exiled to Fourbechies in 1904, before coming to Chimay after

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 ...

under the protection of the Trappist monastery,

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 ...

, established at Scourmont in Chimay in 1850.Scourmont has become famous as one of the six

Trappist breweries 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 ...

of Belgium, its products being marketed as Chimay beer.

Notes

Sources

History of the Trappist nuns at Chimay

Scourmont Abbey website

Belgium Beer Tour
{{coord, 50, 02, 59, N, 4, 18, 29, E, type:landmark_source:frwiki, display=title Trappist monasteries in Belgium Christian monasteries in Hainaut (province) Chimay