Ninove Abbey (Dutch: ''Abdij van Sint-Cornelius en Sint-Cyprianus'') was a monastery of the

Premonstratensian Order The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

in the center of

Ninove Ninove () is a city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. It is situated on the river Dender, and is part of the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city of Ninove proper and since the 1976 merger ...

, in the province of

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

, Belgium. Only the abbey church now remains. The parish church at Ninove was converted into a Premonstratensian Abbey in 1137 by Gerard I, Lord of Ninove, in remembrance of his wife Gisela and himself. The abbey was a filiation from

Park Abbey Park Abbey ( nl, Abdij van Park; also Parc Abbey) is a Premonstratensian abbey in Belgium, at Heverlee just south of Leuven, in Flemish Brabant. The '' Annales Parchenses'' were written here in the 12th century. History The abbey was founded i ...

outside Leuven. The monks settled on uncultivated lands which had been offered to them by the lord of Ninove which were near the town, on the banks of the river

Dender The Dender (Dutch language, Dutch, ) or Dendre (French language, French, ) is a 65-kilometre (40 mi) long river in Belgium, the right tributary of the river Scheldt. The confluence of the two rivers is in the Belgian town of Dendermonde. The Weste ...

. The community continued to grow and its financial position soon allowed it to occupy the adjacent parishes. The lay brothers undertook the farm work. The original abbey church was dedicated in 1174 and was built in

Romano-Gothic Romano-Gothic refers to an architectural style, also called Early Gothic, which evolved in Europe in the 12th century from the Romanesque style, and was an early style in Gothic architecture. In England "Early English Gothic" remains the usual te ...

style. Between 1578 and 1580, the church and abbey buildings were severely damaged. The remains of the church were demolished in 1623. A temporary chapel was built in 1635. The construction of the current Baroque church started in 1640, after Abbot Jan David brought back the plan for construction from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1628. Due to financing problems, however, the works did not progress for decades. It was not until 1716 that construction was resumed. The church was consecrated on 27 April 1727. The organ was manufactured in 1728 by the famous organ builder

Jean-Baptiste Forceville Jean-Baptiste Forceville (Saint-Omer, 1655 – Brussels, 1739) is one of the striking organ builders from the early 18th century. He is sometimes called the "father of the Flemish Rococo organ". His style broke with the traditional structures of th ...

Abdij van Sint-Cornelius en Sint-Cyprianus - 1641

The 16th and 17th centuries were difficult times because of the political troubles and the effects of the Eighty Years' War. The 18th century brought a period of calm and prosperity. All the abbey buildings were reconstructed to the plans of Ghent architects Jan Baptist Simoens and Frans Drieghe, advised by Laurent-Benoît Dewez. The Abbey was suppressed on 1 February 1796 during the

French period In Northern European historiography, the term French period (french: Période française, german: Franzosenzeit, nl, Franse tijd) refers to the period between 1794 and 1815 during which most of Northern Europe was controlled by Republican or Napo ...

. At the request of the local people, the abbey church was converted for use as a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in 1813, with a dedication to the

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution '' Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by ...

. Most of the abbey buildings were demolished in the 1820s, with the main remnant being a monumental gate.

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Further reading