Tongerlo is a village and ''

deelgemeente A deelgemeente (, literally ''part-municipality'') or section ( French) is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 J ...

'' (sub-municipality) of the municipality of

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. The ...

in the province of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

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 ...

. The village is located about south-east of the city of

Herentals Herentals () is a city in the province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Herentals proper and the towns of Morkhoven and . In 2021, Herentals had a total population of 28.194. The total area is . Saint Waltrude is the patron saint ...

. Tongerlo is best known for

Tongerlo Abbey Tongerlo Abbey is a Premonstratensian monastery at Tongerlo in Westerlo near Antwerp, Belgium. History It was founded in 1128 in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Giselbert of Kasterlee, who not only gave the land, but also himself became a ...

founded in 1128 which became one of the most important abbeys of Belgium.

History

In 1128, the

Premonstratensian 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 ...

abbey of Tongerlo was founded in the village of Tongerlo. It was double monastery until 1140. The abbey developed into one of the most important abbeys of Belgium. The abbot became the Lord of the village ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 1800. ...

'' (landed estate), and used to have joint judicial powers. In 1644, the abbey bought full judicial powers for the ''heerlijkheid''. The power of the abbey started to decline after 1773. In 1789 and 1790, the abbey participated in the

Brabant Revolution The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution (french: Révolution brabançonne, nl, Brabantse Omwenteling), sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed insurrection that occurred in the Austr ...

against 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 revolutionaries were defeated, and abbey lost control over the ''heerlijkheid''. Tongerlo Abbey was dissolved in 1796 after the

French Revolution 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 considere ...

, and the village of Tongerlo formed an independent municipality with hamlet of . The monastery returned to the abbey in 1840. Tongerlo remained independent until 1971 when it was merged into

Buildings and sights

founded in 1128, is the main sight in Tongerlo. The grounds contain the Our Lady Church, and the Da Vinci museum with a replica of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

's ''

The Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

'' and a

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the vi ...

(In the Middle Age, farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church). The

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

Beddermolen is a wooden wind mill. There was a windmill at the location before 1535. The current wind mill dates from 1723 and was in service until 1948. It was restored in 1963, but was severely damaged by fire in 1967. In 1981, it was rebuilt and every undamaged piece of the former windmill was reused, but it was not able to grind. Between 2016 and 2017, the Beddermolen was restored to working order, and is in service every first and third Sunday of the month. Hof ter Bruelen is a castle built in 1915 in

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

style. It was constructed using material from older buildings like the 16th century

Egmont Palace The Egmont Palace (french: Palais d'Egmont, nl, Egmontpaleis), also sometimes known as the Arenberg Palace (french: Palais d'Arenberg, link=no, nl, Arenbergpaleis, link=no), is a neoclassical palace in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally bu ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and the city of walls of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. The castle was designed by and contains a large park. Since 1987, Tongerlo organises an annual village festival during the second weekend in May.

Gallery

File:Tongerlo - Sint-Annakerk.jpg, St Anna Church File:Westerlo de Trannoyplein 24 - 155850 - onroerenderfgoed.jpg, Hof ter Bruelen File:Windmolen Beddermolen in Tongerlo.jpg, Windmill Beddermolen File:Tongerlo - Leeft ! (2011).JPG, Tongerlo Village Festival (2011)

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Antwerp Province Westerlo