Postel Abbey

Last updated

Church of the abbey Sint Niklaas Kerk Postel.jpg
Church of the abbey

Postel Abbey is a Premonstratensian abbey in the Belgian municipality of Mol in the province of Antwerp.

Contents

History

In 1138, Premonstratensian canons from Floreffe Abbey founded the monastery at Postel as a dependent priory. It was located at a crossroads where important medieval roads met, on land given to Floreffe by Fastrad of Uitwijk. [1] The church was dedicated in August 1040.

The canons practiced forestry, agriculture and cattle breeding. [2] In 1613, Postel became independent of Floreffe and in 1618 was raised to the status of abbey. Besides pioneering quarrying work in the region, the canons offered hospitality to travellers, In 1797, the abbey was closed, and the canons expelled, in the course of the French Revolution, when French troops invaded the Austrian Netherlands. The carillon was lost at this time. [3] In 1847, the community here was re-established, after which the abbey buildings were restored in several phases.

From 1943, until the end of World War II, Herman Van Breda hid part of the manuscripts of Edmund Husserl (Husserl Archives) in the abbey. In September 1944, the abbey, full of refugees, was occupied by German soldiers. They left on September 22, with the near approach of British troops accompanied by a Resistance fighter from Mol.

Architecture

Postel: Baroque Refectory of the abbey Abdij Postel hoofdgebouw februari 2004.jpg
Postel: Baroque Refectory of the abbey

The second abbey church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, was built in the Rhineland Romanesque style and dates from the end of the 12th century (1190). The church has since been rebuilt several times, as a result of which the building shows some characteristics of Gothic and Baroque styles. The abbey is still surrounded by walls, and partially by moats. [4]

Present day

The norbertines of Postel work in parishes, mostly in the vicinity of the abbey. [5] As of 2023 there were about twenty canons living at the abbey.

Traditionally, Postel abbey produced Postel, the abbey beer. This beer is no longer brewed within the abbey itself but in a commercial brewery in Opwijk. The abbey started producing cheese in 1947. Since 1994, the monks have also developed a botanical garden of medicinal plants, where they cultivate ginseng.

In 1970 a guesthouse was opened. The information center provides tourist information about the region, cycling routes, walking brochures and regional curiosities and places of interest. The abbey is a venue for "Musica Divina", the Festival of Flanders Mechelen/Kempen's autumn concert series. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mol, Belgium</span> Municipality in Flemish Community, Belgium

Mol is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Mol. In 2021, Mol had a total population of 37,021 inhabitants. The total area is 114.19 km2. Mol is a popular holiday resort, with many lakes surrounded by woods. There are two main tourist lakes:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leuven</span> Capital of Flemish Brabant province, Belgium

Leuven, also called Louvain, is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about 25 kilometres east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the sub-municipalities of Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, Leuven proper, Wilsele, Wijgmaal and part of Haasrode and Korbeek-Lo. It is the eighth largest city in Belgium, with more than 100,244 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leffe</span> Beer brand

Leffe is a beer brand owned by InBev Belgium, the European operating arm of the global Anheuser–Busch InBev brewery giant. There are several beers in the range, and they are marketed as abbey beers. They are brewed in large quantities and are widely distributed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mechelen</span> City in Antwerp Province, Belgium

Mechelen is a city and municipality in the province of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of 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 river Dyle (Dijle) flows through the city, hence it is often referred to as the Dijlestad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grimbergen</span> Municipality in Flemish Community, Belgium

Grimbergen is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium, 10 km (6.2 mi) north of the capital Brussels. The municipality comprises the towns of Beigem, Grimbergen, Humbeek, and Strombeek-Bever. In 2017, Grimbergen had a total population of 37,030. The total area is 38.61 km2 (14.91 sq mi), which gives a population density of 959/km2 (2,480/sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Rumbold's Cathedral</span> Cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium

St. Rumbold's Cathedral is the Roman Catholic metropolitan archiepiscopal cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium, dedicated to Saint Rumbold, Christian missionary and martyr who founded an abbey nearby. His remains are rumoured to be buried inside the cathedral. State-of-the-art examination of the relics honoured as Saint Rumbold's and kept in a shrine in the retro-choir, showed a life span of about 40 years and a death date between 580 and 655, while tradition had claimed 775 AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premonstratensians</span> Roman Catholic order founded in 1120

The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons, is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church founded in Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Norbert of Xanten, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg. Premonstratensians are designated by OPraem following their name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Affligem Abbey</span> Abbey in Affligem, Belgium

Affligem Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in the municipality of Affligem, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, 19 km (12 mi) to the north-west of Brussels. Dedicated in 1086, it was the most important monastery in the Duchy of Brabant and therefore often called Primaria Brabantiae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Averbode Abbey</span> Premonstratensian abbey in Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Flemish Brabant, Belgium

Averbode Abbey is a Premonstratensian abbey situated in Averbode, in the municipality Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, in the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels in Belgium. It was founded about 1134, suppressed in 1797, and reestablished in 1834. Throughout the 20th century the abbey press was a leading children's publisher in Belgium. The church's building is a peculiar synthesis of Baroque and Gothic, with Renaissance ornament details, dominating the monastery complex. The whole structure was built of iron sandstone from Langdorp and white sandstone from Gobertange between 1664 and 1672, after a design by the Antwerp architect Jan Van den Eynde II.

Mont Cornillon Abbey was a Premonstratensian monastery which occupied a site in Wallonia close to Liège, Belgium. In 1288 the abbey having moved to a new location, it became known as Beaurepart Abbey. It was the home of Saint Juliana of Liège.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floreffe Abbey</span>

Floreffe Abbey is a former Premonstratensian monastery, the second of the order to be founded, situated on the Sambre at Floreffe, about 11 km (6.8 mi) south-west of Namur, Wallonia, Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grimbergen Abbey</span>

Grimbergen Abbey is a Premonstratensian monastery in Grimbergen, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, established in 1128 in the place of an earlier foundation of Augustinian Canons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berne Abbey</span> Dutch monastery

Berne Abbey, a Dutch abbey of the Premonstratensians, or Norbertines, in Heeswijk, North Brabant, is a religious community in the Netherlands. It has 27 brothers and priests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isfrid of Ratzeburg</span>

Isfrid of Ratzeburg was a Premonstratensian Prince-Bishop of Ratzeburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldeneik Abbey</span>

Aldeneik Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Aldeneik, currently a mainly residential parish of Maaseik, in the province of Limburg in eastern Belgium. It was founded in 728. The Benedictine nuns were replaced by canons in the 10th century. In the 16th century the canons moved to nearby Maaseik, and Aldeneik was abandoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ename Abbey</span>

Ename Abbey (1063–1795) was a Benedictine monastery in the village of Ename, now a suburb of Oudenaarde, East Flanders, Belgium. It was founded by Adele of France, wife of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, and was confiscated during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was then sold and dismantled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drongen Abbey</span>

Drongen Abbey, or the Old Abbey, Drongen, is a monastic complex on the River Leie in Drongen, a part of the city of Ghent in East Flanders, Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Trudo's Abbey, Bruges</span> Abbey in West Flanders, Belgium

Male Castle, Bruges. A community of the Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre. It originated in Bruges in the 11th century, and between 1954 and 2013 was settled in Male Castle in Male, Sint-Kruis, Bruges, West Flanders, Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninove Abbey</span> Church in Ninove, Belgium

Ninove Abbey was a monastery of the Premonstratensian Order in the center of Ninove, in the province of East Flanders, Belgium. Only the abbey church now remains.

References

  1. Bijsterveld, Arnoud-Jan. Do Ut Des: Gift Giving, Memoria, and Conflict Management in the Medieval Low Countries , Uitgeverij Verloren, 2007, p. 93 ISBN   9789065509581
  2. "Postel Abbey", Tourism Mol
  3. Rice, William Gorham. Carillons of Belgium and Holland: Tower Music in the Low Countries, John Lane Company, 1914, p. 203
  4. "Conservation of the monastery Abbey de Postel", Fondation Campine Vivante
  5. Postel Abbey official website
  6. "Concert venues", Festival of Flanders Mechelen/Kempen

Sources

51°17′20″N5°11′24″E / 51.2890°N 5.1899°E / 51.2890; 5.1899