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 i ...

(

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 ...

). Drongen is divided into three parishes: Drongen, Luchteren 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 excl ...

Monastery

Drongen is known for its early medieval monastery, Drongen Abbey, 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: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

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. 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 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, 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 Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, ...

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 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 pollut ...

river at Baarle, Drongen File:Hoosmolen 9-04-2009 17-02-34.JPG, The '' Hoosmolen'' in the Bourgoyen-Ossemeersen

External links

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Oude Abdij ('Old Abbey')
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Practical information about Drongen
{{Authority control Sub-municipalities of Ghent Populated places in East Flanders