Drongen (
French: ''Tronchiennes'') is a district within the city of
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
(
Arrondissement of Ghent
The Arrondissement of Ghent (; ) is the largest of the six administrative arrondissements in the Province of East Flanders, Belgium. It is both an administrative and a judicial arrondissement. However, the Judicial Arrondissement of Ghent also c ...
).
Drongen is divided into three parishes: Drongen,
Luchteren
Luchteren is a village in East Flanders, Belgium, within the municipality of Ghent.
Luchteren is the most rural parish of Drongen district, located on the main N461 road.
Most shops and other important features are located in the main streets Be ...
and
Baarle
Baarle () is a village whose territory is divided into a patchwork of Belgian and Dutch territories. The Belgian parts of the village are called Baarle-Hertog and the Dutch elements are called Baarle-Nassau. The Belgian part includes 16 excla ...
.
Monastery
Drongen is known for its early medieval monastery,
Drongen Abbey
Drongen Abbey, or the Old Abbey, Drongen ( nl, Abdij van Drongen, Oude Abdij van Drongen), is a monastic complex on the River Leie in Drongen, a part of the city of Ghent in East Flanders, Belgium.
Formerly a Premonstratensian abbey, since 1837 ...
, founded in the 7th century by the monk
Amandus
Amandus ( 584 – 679), commonly called Saint Amand, was a bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht and one of the great Christian missionaries of Flanders. He is venerated as a saint, particularly in France and Belgium.
Life
The chief source of details ...
, the Missionary of the Leie and Schelde. Destroyed by the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
in 853, the monastery was rebuilt by the
counts of Flanders
The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...
. The monastery was the victim of the religious wars following the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, and in 1578 it was once again destroyed by
Calvinists
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
.
In 1638, the abbey church was rebuilt and between 1638 and 1698 the monastery was restored. After a fire in 1727, the church tower was restored once again in 1734, with a distinctive appearance. In 1797, the
French occupied and sold the abbey. In 1804,
Lieven Bauwens
Lieven Bauwens (14 June 1769, in Ghent – 17 March 1822, in Paris) was a Belgian entrepreneur and industrial spy who was sent to Great Britain at a young age and brought a spinning mule and skilled workers to the European continent.
He starte ...
used the monastery as a textile plant. The current monastery and abbey church date from 1859 and remain in use as a spiritual centre run by the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
dedicated to the teachings of
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola, Society of Jesus, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spain, Spanish Catholic ...
.
Notable people
Drongen is the birthplace of professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne (born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester City and the Belgium national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. Pundits have often des ...
.
Gallery
File:Abdij van Drongen 3-10-2010 14-42-55.JPG, Drongen Abbey
Drongen Abbey, or the Old Abbey, Drongen ( nl, Abdij van Drongen, Oude Abdij van Drongen), is a monastic complex on the River Leie in Drongen, a part of the city of Ghent in East Flanders, Belgium.
Formerly a Premonstratensian abbey, since 1837 ...
File:Leie river at Baarle, Drongen.jpg, The Leie
The Lys () or Leie () is a river in France and Belgium, and a left-bank tributary of the Scheldt. Its source is in Pas-de-Calais, France, and it flows into the river Scheldt in Ghent, Belgium. Its total length is .
Historically a very pollute ...
river at Baarle, Drongen
File:Hoosmolen 9-04-2009 17-02-34.JPG, The '' Hoosmolen'' in the Bourgoyen-Ossemeersen
Bourgoyen-Ossemeersen is a nature reserve on the outskirts of the Belgian city of Ghent. It lies mainly in the district of Mariakerke and covers 230 hectares. It mostly consists of wet, often flooded, meadows interspersed with ditches and canals, ...
External links
*
Oude Abdij ('Old Abbey')
*
*
Practical information about Drongen
{{Authority control
Sub-municipalities of Ghent
Populated places in East Flanders