La Cambre Abbey (french: Abbaye de La Cambre, ) or Ter Kameren Abbey ( nl, Abdij Ter Kameren) is a former Cistercian

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 con ...

in the City of Brussels, Belgium. It is located in the Maelbeek valley between the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos and the Ixelles Ponds. The abbey church is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of the Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels and home to a community of Norbertine canons, while other parts of the monastery house the headquarters of the Belgian National Geographic Institute and

La Cambre L'École nationale supérieure des arts visuels de La Cambre (ENSAV), more known as La Cambre, is a renowned visual arts school founded by Henry van de Velde in Brussels in 1926. It was founded as the ''Institut supérieur des Arts décoratifs'' ...

, a prestigious

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...

school. The abbey was founded around 1196. It was suppressed during 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

. Most of today's buildings date from the 18th century; only the church, the refectory and the wing of the capitular hall maintain their medieval character. The simple abbey church houses Albert Bouts' early 16th-century oil painting ''The Mocking of Christ''.

History

Early history

The abbey was founded around 1196 by its , with the support of the monastic community of Villers Abbey (in present-day

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant (french: Brabant wallon ; nl, Waals-Brabant ; wa, Roman Payis) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and ...

), following the Cistercian rule. Henry I, Duke of Brabant, donated the Ixelles Ponds, a

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

, and the domain of the monastery. The ("Abbey of the Chamber of Our Lady"), hence in short form, remained under the spiritual guidance of Villers, one of the most important Cistercian communities. Complexe abbatial de la Cambre au XVIIIème siècle

Complexe abbatial de la Cambre au XVIIIème siècle

Saint Boniface of Brussels (1182–1260), a native of Ixelles, canon of

Saint Gudula Saint Gudula was born in the pagus of Brabant (in present-day Belgium). According to her 11th-century biography ( Vita Gudilae), written by a monk of the abbey of Hautmont between 1048 and 1051, she was the daughter of a duke of Lotharingia call ...

(future cathedral of Brussels), who taught theology at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and was made bishop of

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

, Switzerland, in 1231, lived for eighteen years in the abbey and is interred in the church. The mystic

leper Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

Saint Alix lived in the community at the same epoch. During the numerous

wars of religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

of the 16th and 17th centuries, the abbey was largely destroyed, but it was rebuilt in the 18th century in the French form it largely retains. It was suppressed during the

and sold as national property in 1796.

20th century–present

After the abbey closed as a monastic community, the buildings were used successively as a military hospital, a cotton manufacture, a

poor house A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy. Workhouses In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), ‘workhouse’ has been the ...

, and a military school. During the

First World War 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 premises were occupied by German troops. In 1921, the ''League of Friends of La Cambre'' moved into the abbey to preserve it. The terraced garden and formal clipped

bosquet In the French formal garden, a ''bosquet'' (French, from Italian ''bosco'', "grove, wood") is a formal plantation of trees in a wide variety of forms, some open at the bottom and others not. At a minimum a bosquet can be five trees of identical s ...

s were restored in the 18th-century manner starting in 1924. La Cambre Abbey has been designated a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

since 30 June 1953.

Architecture and landscape

On the Ixelles Ponds' side, La Cambre Abbey has two entrances. The cloister adjoins the Church of Our Lady of the Cambre and the

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the Lat ...

. The abbey church shows the transition between the primitive Gothic and the

Flamboyant Gothic Flamboyant (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...

styles. Its northern part dates from the 15th century, whilst its southern part has retained its original roof and two windows from the early 14th century. It includes a single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

long and wide, covered with a shingle

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

erected in 1603. The 18th-century abbesses' residence, with its ''

cour d'honneur A ''cour d'honneur'' (; ; german: Ehrenhof) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block ('' corps de logis''), sometimes w ...

'' (main courtyard) in the neoclassical style and French formal gardens, has preserved the presbytery, the stables, and other dependencies. File:00 Ixelles - Abbaye - La Cambre 3.JPG, File:00 Ixelles - Abbaye - La Cambre 1.JPG, File:Abb. de la Cambre 05.JPG, File:Abb.de la Cambre 02.JPG, File:Abb.de la Cambre entrée.JPG, File:Abb.de la Cambre, chappelle St.Boniface.JPG,

Residents

Marie Alexandrine Snoy, abbess of la Cambre abbey

Commendatory Abbesses

* Régine, Lady of Beauffort * Marie, Lady of Egmont * Catherine de t'Serclaes * * Marie, Countess vander Noot * 1627–1709: , elected on 6 March 1683, daughter of

Anthonie II Schetz Anthonie Schetz (1564, Antwerp - 1640 or 1641, Brussels), was a military commander in Spanish service during the Eighty Years' War. He was baron (and from 1637 count) of Grobbendonk, lord of Tilburg and Goirle, Pulle and Pulderbos, and Weze ...

, Count of Grobbendonk * 1757–1794: , last abbess, named ''Dame Séraphine''

Bernardine Nuns

Most of the residing nuns were daughters of important Noble Houses and the abbesses were usually members of wealthy families. The sisters were named ''Bernardines of La Cambre''. * Saint Alice of Schaerbeek (1204–1250) * Constantia Rubens, daughter of

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...

* Catherine d'Ittre 00 Albert Bouts - La Cambre

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambre Abbey Christian monasteries in Brussels La Cambre Abbey Protected heritage sites in Brussels Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Cistercian monasteries in Belgium Monasteries destroyed during the French Revolution