Ever since I’ve heard about the famous monasteries and abbeys all over Belgium where monks have been brewing beer and making cheese for centuries I have been curious about visiting them. Lucky for us the famous Orval Abbey is located less than an hour from Arlon and will be our next stop. Today we have decided to take our time visiting by taking the small country roads instead of the highway. There are numerous interesting little villages in this area and lots of forest. We are now in the region located very close to the border of France.
The Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132. The monks living there today still produce the famous Trappist Orval Beer and cheese which you can buy in their shop. When you drive up to the abbey you can see many of the buildings in the distance where they produce beer and cheese. As a visitor you are actually only permitted to see a small part of the Abbey. The rest of it is forbidden to the public (we imagine it is to preseve their intimacy).
The history of the abbey began with a small chapel in the 10th century. In 1070 a group of Benedictine monks from Calabria settled here and began the construction of a church and a monastery. Sadly in 1252 the monastery was destroyed by a big fire and it took the monks over a 100 years to rebuild it!
In the 15th and 16th centuries the Abbey opened a foundry. In 1637 the abbey was pillaged and burnt by French mercenaries during the Thirty Year’s War. In 1793, during the French Revolution, the abbey was completely burnt down by French forces. In 1887 the Harenne family bought the land and its ruins. In 1926 the family donated it to the Cistercian order so monastic life could bloom again on this land. A new monastery was constructed between 1926 and 1948. In 1948 the new church was constructed.
As a visitor you can walk around the ruins and imagine what it it must have been like at the time. The reconstructed site (church, monastery, brewery and church) are closed to the public.
For those of you who know about Orval or have tasted their beer or cheese here is an interesting legend (taken from Wikipedia):
There is a legend of the abbey's foundation, purporting to explain the name '"Orval" and the coat of arms. According to this, the widowed Mathilda of Tuscany was visiting the site, when she lost her wedding ring in a spring, to her great distress. After praying for the return of the ring, a trout appeared on the surface of the water with the ring in its mouth. She exclaimed "Truly this place is a Val d'Or", from which the name "Orval" is derived, and in gratitude made available the funds for the foundation of the monastery here. The abbey arms show the trout and ring. The spring still supplies water to the monastery and its brewery.
The Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132. The monks living there today still produce the famous Trappist Orval Beer and cheese which you can buy in their shop. When you drive up to the abbey you can see many of the buildings in the distance where they produce beer and cheese. As a visitor you are actually only permitted to see a small part of the Abbey. The rest of it is forbidden to the public (we imagine it is to preseve their intimacy).
The history of the abbey began with a small chapel in the 10th century. In 1070 a group of Benedictine monks from Calabria settled here and began the construction of a church and a monastery. Sadly in 1252 the monastery was destroyed by a big fire and it took the monks over a 100 years to rebuild it!
In the 15th and 16th centuries the Abbey opened a foundry. In 1637 the abbey was pillaged and burnt by French mercenaries during the Thirty Year’s War. In 1793, during the French Revolution, the abbey was completely burnt down by French forces. In 1887 the Harenne family bought the land and its ruins. In 1926 the family donated it to the Cistercian order so monastic life could bloom again on this land. A new monastery was constructed between 1926 and 1948. In 1948 the new church was constructed.
As a visitor you can walk around the ruins and imagine what it it must have been like at the time. The reconstructed site (church, monastery, brewery and church) are closed to the public.
For those of you who know about Orval or have tasted their beer or cheese here is an interesting legend (taken from Wikipedia):
There is a legend of the abbey's foundation, purporting to explain the name '"Orval" and the coat of arms. According to this, the widowed Mathilda of Tuscany was visiting the site, when she lost her wedding ring in a spring, to her great distress. After praying for the return of the ring, a trout appeared on the surface of the water with the ring in its mouth. She exclaimed "Truly this place is a Val d'Or", from which the name "Orval" is derived, and in gratitude made available the funds for the foundation of the monastery here. The abbey arms show the trout and ring. The spring still supplies water to the monastery and its brewery.
