Kortenberg Abbey

Kortenberg Abbey
	Abdij Kortenberg
	Gatehouse in Gothic style
Monastery information
Order	Order of Saint Benedict
Established	1095
Disestablished	1798
People
Founder(s)	Godfrey I, Count of Louvain
Architecture
Functional Status	retreat centre
Heritage designation	protected monument
Designated date	2005
Site
Location	Abdijdreef, Kortenberg, Belgium
Coordinates	50°53′08″N4°32′57″E / 50.88556°N 4.54917°E

Last updated April 15, 2019

Kortenberg Abbey, sometimes referred to as Cortemberg Abbey (founded 1095; suppressed 1798), was a monastery of Benedictine nuns at Kortenberg in the Duchy of Brabant. It is now a diocesan retreat centre under the name OAK: Old Abbey of Kortenberg. Since 2005 the buildings have had the status of a protected monument (number OB001683) under the Flemish organization for Immovable Heritage.

Kortenberg is a Belgian municipality located in the province of Flemish Brabant, about halfway between the cities of Brussels and Leuven. The municipality comprises the subdivisions or deelgemeenten of Erps-Kwerps, Everberg, Kortenberg proper and Meerbeek. On January 1, 2013 Kortenberg had a total population of 19,393. The total area is 34.52 km² which gives a population density of about 562 inhabitants per km². In the southern part of Everberg there is also a hamlet called Vrebos, while between Erps-Kwerps and Meerbeek there is another hamlet called Schoonaarde, which can be found in the proximity of the train station of Erps-Kwerps.

The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1482, until it was partitioned after the Dutch revolt.

Flemish organization for Immovable Heritage Flemish government agency

The Flemish organization for Immovable Heritage, or simply Onroerend Erfgoed is a cultural heritage agency sponsored by the Flemish Government. The organisation is split into four subdivisions; the former VIOE, which inventories Beschermd erfgoed in the Flemish Region; the agency "Ruimte en Erfgoed" which executes policy on heritage management and protection; the Ministry department of Town and County Planning, Housing Policy and Immovable Heritage, or Ruimtelijke Ordening, Woonbeleid en Onroerend Erfgoed (RWO), which supports the Minister of Culture on policy decisions; and Inspectie RWO, which is the inspection arm of the RWO.

Foundation

The foundation, dating from before 1105 and traditionally dated 1095, was confirmed by Odo of Tournai in 1110.^[1]

Odo of Tournai, also known as Odoardus or Odo of Orléans (1060–1113), was a Benedictine monk, scholar and bishop of Cambrai.

Constitutional history

The abbey was an important location in the constitutional history of the Duchy of Brabant, as it was where the Charter of Kortenberg was confirmed and where the council met that was instituted to oversee the charter's implementation.

On September 27, 1312, the Duke of Brabant signed the Charter of Kortenberg that should better be referred to as a constitution. It was valid for the entire duchy of Brabant. From this charter originated a kind of "Parliament of Kortenberg" or a "Council of Kortenberg" or what was called an assembly of "The Lords of Kortenberg". With this Charter the Duchy of Brabant was the first state in the Low Countries or perhaps even the first state of Europe to give the estates the right for participation. Actually one of the first democratic decisions in feudal Europe.

Tithes dispute

In 1129 Burchard, Bishop of Cambrai, awarded the parishes of Leest and Hombeek (now part of the municipality of Mechelen) to the abbey, with all tithes and other benefits. In 1707 the parish priest of Leest began to claim the tithes on newly developed lands in the parish, arguing that these could not have been included in the original donation. The resulting court case went to the highest tribunal in the Austrian Netherlands, the Great Council of Mechelen, with the monastery represented by the noted jurist Zeger Bernhard van Espen.^[2]

Mechelen is a city and municipality in the province of Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel (adjacent) and Battel, as well as the villages of Walem, Heffen, Leest, Hombeek, and Muizen. The Dyle flows through the city, hence it is often referred to as the Dijlestad.

The Austrian Netherlands was the larger part of the Southern Netherlands between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Rastatt in 1714 and lasted until its annexation during the aftermath of the Battle of Sprimont in 1794 and the Peace of Basel in 1795. Austria, however, did not relinquish its claim over the province until 1797 in the Treaty of Campo Formio. The Austrian Netherlands was a noncontiguous territory that consisted of what is now western Belgium as well as greater Luxembourg, bisected by the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The dominant languages were German, Dutch (Flemish), and French, along with Picard and Walloon.

From the 15th century onwards, the Great Council of the Netherlands at Mechelen was the highest court in the Burgundian Netherlands. It was responsible for the Dutch-, French- and German-speaking areas. In Luxembourgish the phrase "mir ginn op Mechelen" still means playing one's last trump card. The Grote Raad first sat in the Schepenhuis in Mechelen then, from 1616, in the (old) palace of Margaretha of Austria on Keizerstraat.

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Everberg is a town in the Belgian province Flemish-Brabant and is part of the municipality of Kortenberg. The territory covers an area of 925 ha. The neighbouring towns or municipalities are Leefdaal, Kortenberg, Erps-Kwerps, Meerbeek, Sterrebeek, Moorsel and Tervuren. A small hamlet, called Vrebos, can also be found in Everberg.

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References

↑ Alban Butler, Vies des pères, des martyrs et des autres principaux saints, tr. Abbé Godescard, vol. 9 (Louvain, 1830), p. 32 (footnote).
↑ Journal des sçavans , Sept. 1716, pp. 350-357.

External links

Listing on the inventory of built heritage. Accessed 9 Feb. 2015.
Website of retreat centre OAK - Old Abbey of Kortenberg. Accessed 9 Feb. 2015.

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[1] Alban Butler, Vies des pères, des martyrs et des autres principaux saints, tr. Abbé Godescard, vol. 9 (Louvain, 1830), p. 32 (footnote).

[2] Journal des sçavans , Sept. 1716, pp. 350-357.