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'''Keizersberg Abbey''', also known as '''Mont César Abbey''' ({{lang-nl|Abdij Keizersberg}}; {{lang-fr|Abbaye du Mont César}}) is a [[Order of St. Benedict|Benedictine]] monastery on the hill ''Keizersberg'' or ''Mont César'' in the north of the university town of [[Leuven]], [[Belgium]].
{{short description|Benedictine monastery in Leuven, Belgium}}
'''Keizersberg Abbey''', also known as '''Mont César Abbey''' ({{langx|nl|Abdij van Keizersberg}}; {{langx|fr|Abbaye du Mont-César}}) is a [[Order of St. Benedict|Benedictine]] monastery on the hill ''Keizersberg'' or ''Mont César'' in the north of the university town of [[Leuven]], [[Belgium]].

[[File:Abdij van Keizersberg oprit.JPG|thumb|Front view of the abbey]]
[[File:Maria beeld Keizersberg.JPG|thumb|Statue of Virgin Mary and child]]


==History==
==History==

===The site===
===The site===
The ''Keizersberg'' ("Caesar's" or "Emperor's hill") was the site of the castle around which the city of Leuven grew up, and which local legend connected with [[Julius Caesar]]. The castle was demolished in 1782 by order of [[Emperor Joseph II]]. On the east side of the same hill a [[commandery]] of the [[Knights Templars]] was built in 1187, which when the order was abolished came to the [[Knights Hospitallers]] in 1312. This was secularised by the French in 1798, when the church and larger buildings were demolished.
The ''Keizersberg'' ("Caesar's" or "Emperor's hill") was the site of the castle around which the city of Leuven grew up, and which local legend connected with [[Julius Caesar]]. The castle was demolished in 1782 by order of [[Emperor Joseph II]]. On the east side of the same hill a [[Commandery (feudalism)|commandery]] of the [[Knights Templars]] was built in 1187, which when the order was abolished came to the [[Knights Hospitallers]] in 1312. This was secularised by the French in 1798, when the church and larger buildings were demolished.<ref>[https://abdijkeizersberg.be/abbey/history "History of the Abbey", Abdij Keizersberg]</ref>


===Beuron Congregation===
===Beuron Congregation===
A Benedictine house of studies was established in Leuven in 1888 by nine monks from [[Maredsous Abbey]], and land was acquired on the present site in the following year for the construction of a larger establishment, in which the remains of the old commandery were incorporated. The first major conventual block, the north wing, was completed in 1897. The abbey was formally founded on [[13 April]] [[1899]] as part of the [[Beuron Congregation]], under the first abbot<ref>prior from April to August 1899</ref>, Dom Robertus de Kerchove.
A Benedictine house of studies was established in Leuven in 1888 by Dom Gerard van Caloen, rector of the abbey school of [[Maredsous Abbey]], and land was acquired on the present site in the following year for the construction of a larger establishment, in which the remains of the old commandery were incorporated. The first major conventual block, the north wing, was completed in 1897. The abbey was formally founded on 13 April 1899 as part of the [[Beuron Congregation]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=McqBCgAAQBAJ&dq=Keizersberg+Abbey&pg=PA522 ''T&T Clark Companion to Liturgy'', Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015, p. 522]{{ISBN|9780567665775}}</ref> under the first abbot,<ref>prior from April to August 1899</ref> Dom Robertus de Kerchove.


[[Columba Marmion]] (declared Blessed in 2000), abbot of Maredsous, was also appointed prior of Mont César in 1906, which he remained until his death in 1923.
[[Columba Marmion]], was abbot of Maredsous and also appointed prior of Mont César in 1906, which he remained until his death in 1923. He was beatified in 2000.


The foundation is perhaps best known in the English-speaking world under its French name, ''Mont César Abbey'', for its connection both with Blessed Columba and with the reformer and ecumenist [[Dom Lambert Beauduin]], who while a member of this community launched his liturgical movement from here in 1909, and began publication of the associated periodical "Les Questions Liturgiques et Paroissiales" in the following year. Dom Lambert left Mont César in 1925 to be prior of [[Amay Priory]], established from Mont César, from where he later founded the famous [[Chevetogne Abbey]].
The foundation is perhaps best known in the English-speaking world under its French name, ''Mont César Abbey'', for its connection both with Blessed Columba and with the reformer and ecumenist [[Dom Lambert Beauduin]], who while a member of this community launched a liturgical movement in 1909 and began publishing the accompanying periodical ''Les Questions Liturgiques et Paroissiales'' the following year. Dom Lambert left Mont César in 1925 to be prior of [[Amay Priory]], established from Mont César. From there he later founded [[Chevetogne Abbey]].


In 1914 the buildings were severely damaged by fire, and the monks took refuge in another Beuronese house, [[Maria Laach Abbey]] in the [[Rhineland]], until after the end of the [[World War I|war]], when reconstruction was possible.
In 1914 the buildings were severely damaged by fire, and the monks took refuge in another Beuronese house, [[Maria Laach Abbey]] in the [[Rhineland]], until after the end of the [[World War I|war]].


===Mission Congregation===
===Belgian Congregation===
In 1921 the abbey moved from the Beuron Congregation to become part of the new Belgian Mission Congregation of Our Lady (''Belgische Congregatie van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Boodschap''), under the presidency of Abbot Robertus. In 1929 publication began of the theological journal "Recherches de Théologie Ancienne et Médiévale".
In 1921 the abbey moved from the Beuron Congregation to become part of the new [[Congregation of the Annunciation|Belgian Congregation of Our Lady]] (''Belgische Congregatie van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Boodschap''), under the presidency of Abbot Robertus. In 1929 publication began of the theological journal "Recherches de Théologie Ancienne et Médiévale".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=iepJAgAAQBAJ&dq=Keizersberg+Abbey&pg=PT1563 Simons, Walter. "Belgium sites", ''Encyclopedia of Monasticism'', (William M. Johnston. ed.) Routledge, 2013, p. 127]{{ISBN|9781136787164}}</ref>


Dom Bruno ([[Henri Reynders]]), famous for hiding many Jewish children from the [[Nazis]] during [[World War II]], was a monk of Mont César from 1922 until 1968.
Dom Bruno ([[Henri Reynders]]), famous for hiding many Jewish children from the [[Nazis]] during [[World War II]], was a monk of Mont César from 1922 until 1968. A fellow monk at the abbey provided him with several skillfully forged identification cards.<ref name=Rivera>[https://brussels-express.eu/world-humanitarian-day-7-distinguished-humanitarians-who-came-from-belgium/ Rivera, Rosetti. "World Humanitarian Day: 7 distinguished humanitarians who came from Belgium", ''Brussels Express'', August 19, 2018]</ref>


The abbey again suffered damage in [[World War II]] with the bombing of the buildings during [[airstrike|air raids]] on Leuven in 1944, which among other things destroyed the last remains of the older buildings from the time of the Hospitallers, and the monastery was temporarily uninhabitable.
The abbey again suffered damage in [[World War II]] with the bombing of the buildings during [[airstrike|air raids]] on Leuven in 1944, which among other things destroyed the last remains of the older buildings from the time of the Hospitallers, and the monastery was temporarily uninhabitable.


By 1948 it was sufficiently restored to be able to set up a small community at [[Wavreumont]] in [[Stavelot]], which was formally established as St. Remaclus' Priory on [[21 June]] [[1952]].
By 1948 it was sufficiently restored to be able to set up a small community at [[Wavreumont]] in [[Stavelot]], which was formally established as St. Remaclus' Priory on 21 June 1952.


===Subiaco Congregation===
===Subiaco Congregation===
When the French section of the [[Catholic University of Leuven]] was moved out of Leuven it was decided that the abbey should become a Flemish institution, whence the change from Mont César to Keizersberg. On [[10 June]] [[1968]] the abbey was transferred to the Flemish Province of the [[Subiaco Congregation]]. The abbot and prior resigned in the same year, and a temporary administrator was appointed.
When the French section of the [[Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Catholic University of Leuven]] was moved out of Leuven it was decided that the abbey should become a Flemish institution, whence the change from Mont César to Keizersberg. On 10 June 1968 the abbey was transferred to the Flemish Province of the [[Subiaco Congregation]]. The abbot and prior resigned in the same year, and a temporary administrator was appointed.


In 1969 part of the renovated abbey was converted for use as student accommodation, and is still used for that purpose.
In 1969 part of the renovated abbey was converted for use as student accommodation, and is still used for that purpose.


In 2020, a part of the Medieval wall collapsed.<ref>[https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2020/07/06/medieval-wall-collapses-at-leuvens-keizersberg-abbey/ "Medieval wall collapses at Leuven’s Keizersberg Abbey", VRT News, July 6, 2020]</ref>
==Beer==

The abbey's name is used commercially by a brewer under license, but the monastery has never itself been involved in brewing.
As of 2022, there were five monks in residence at Keizersberg.


==Abbots==
==Abbots==
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* Dom Ambroos Verheul 1970-1991
* Dom Ambroos Verheul 1970-1991
: ''Dom Livien Bauwens (acting prior-administrator)'' 1991-1993
: ''Dom Livien Bauwens (acting prior-administrator)'' 1991-1993
* Dom Kris Op de Beeck 1993-
* Dom Kris Op de Beeck 1993-2017
Dom Dirk Hanssens was appointed as prior-administrator in 2018


==References==
==References==
Line 44: Line 51:


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.keizersberg.be/ Keizersberg Abbey website] {{nl icon}}
* [http://www.keizersberg.be/ Keizersberg Abbey website] {{in lang|nl}}
* [http://www.odis.be/lnk/en/OR_10500 Benedictines - Abbey Keizersberg, Leuven] in [https://www.odis.eu ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428134547/https://www.odis.eu/ |date=2016-04-28 }}
* [http://www.odis.be/lnk/en/AE_9664 Archives of Benedictines - Abbey Keizersberg, Leuven] in [https://www.odis.eu ODIS - Online Database for Intermediary Structures] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428134547/https://www.odis.eu/ |date=2016-04-28 }}


[[Category:Benedictine monasteries in Belgium]]
{{Catholic Church in Belgium}}
{{Liturgical Movement}}
⚫
[[Category:Leuven]]
{{Coord|50.8885|4.6966|type:landmark_region:BE|display=title}}
⚫
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1899]]
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Christian monasteries in Flemish Brabant]]
[[fr:Abbaye du Mont César]]
[[Category:Benedictine monasteries in Belgium]]
[[nl:Abdij van Keizersberg]]
⚫
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Leuven]]
⚫
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1899]]

Latest revision as of 15:10, 21 November 2024

Keizersberg Abbey, also known as Mont César Abbey (Dutch: Abdij van Keizersberg; French: Abbaye du Mont-César) is a Benedictine monastery on the hill Keizersberg or Mont César in the north of the university town of Leuven, Belgium.

Front view of the abbey
Statue of Virgin Mary and child

History

[edit]

The site

[edit]

The Keizersberg ("Caesar's" or "Emperor's hill") was the site of the castle around which the city of Leuven grew up, and which local legend connected with Julius Caesar. The castle was demolished in 1782 by order of Emperor Joseph II. On the east side of the same hill a commandery of the Knights Templars was built in 1187, which when the order was abolished came to the Knights Hospitallers in 1312. This was secularised by the French in 1798, when the church and larger buildings were demolished.[1]

Beuron Congregation

[edit]

A Benedictine house of studies was established in Leuven in 1888 by Dom Gerard van Caloen, rector of the abbey school of Maredsous Abbey, and land was acquired on the present site in the following year for the construction of a larger establishment, in which the remains of the old commandery were incorporated. The first major conventual block, the north wing, was completed in 1897. The abbey was formally founded on 13 April 1899 as part of the Beuron Congregation,[2] under the first abbot,[3] Dom Robertus de Kerchove.

Columba Marmion, was abbot of Maredsous and also appointed prior of Mont César in 1906, which he remained until his death in 1923. He was beatified in 2000.

The foundation is perhaps best known in the English-speaking world under its French name, Mont César Abbey, for its connection both with Blessed Columba and with the reformer and ecumenist Dom Lambert Beauduin, who while a member of this community launched a liturgical movement in 1909 and began publishing the accompanying periodical Les Questions Liturgiques et Paroissiales the following year. Dom Lambert left Mont César in 1925 to be prior of Amay Priory, established from Mont César. From there he later founded Chevetogne Abbey.

In 1914 the buildings were severely damaged by fire, and the monks took refuge in another Beuronese house, Maria Laach Abbey in the Rhineland, until after the end of the war.

Belgian Congregation

[edit]

In 1921 the abbey moved from the Beuron Congregation to become part of the new Belgian Congregation of Our Lady (Belgische Congregatie van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Boodschap), under the presidency of Abbot Robertus. In 1929 publication began of the theological journal "Recherches de Théologie Ancienne et Médiévale".[4]

Dom Bruno (Henri Reynders), famous for hiding many Jewish children from the Nazis during World War II, was a monk of Mont César from 1922 until 1968. A fellow monk at the abbey provided him with several skillfully forged identification cards.[5]

The abbey again suffered damage in World War II with the bombing of the buildings during air raids on Leuven in 1944, which among other things destroyed the last remains of the older buildings from the time of the Hospitallers, and the monastery was temporarily uninhabitable.

By 1948 it was sufficiently restored to be able to set up a small community at Wavreumont in Stavelot, which was formally established as St. Remaclus' Priory on 21 June 1952.

Subiaco Congregation

[edit]

When the French section of the Catholic University of Leuven was moved out of Leuven it was decided that the abbey should become a Flemish institution, whence the change from Mont César to Keizersberg. On 10 June 1968 the abbey was transferred to the Flemish Province of the Subiaco Congregation. The abbot and prior resigned in the same year, and a temporary administrator was appointed.

In 1969 part of the renovated abbey was converted for use as student accommodation, and is still used for that purpose.

In 2020, a part of the Medieval wall collapsed.[6]

As of 2022, there were five monks in residence at Keizersberg.

Abbots

[edit]
  • Dom Robertus de Kerchove 1899-1928
  • Dom Bernard Capelle 1928-1952
  • Dom Rombout Van Doren 1952-1968
Dom Filips De Cloedt (acting abbot-administrator) 1968-1970
  • Dom Ambroos Verheul 1970-1991
Dom Livien Bauwens (acting prior-administrator) 1991-1993
  • Dom Kris Op de Beeck 1993-2017

Dom Dirk Hanssens was appointed as prior-administrator in 2018

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "History of the Abbey", Abdij Keizersberg
  2. ^ T&T Clark Companion to Liturgy, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015, p. 522ISBN 9780567665775
  3. ^ prior from April to August 1899
  4. ^ Simons, Walter. "Belgium sites", Encyclopedia of Monasticism, (William M. Johnston. ed.) Routledge, 2013, p. 127ISBN 9781136787164
  5. ^ Rivera, Rosetti. "World Humanitarian Day: 7 distinguished humanitarians who came from Belgium", Brussels Express, August 19, 2018
  6. ^ "Medieval wall collapses at Leuven’s Keizersberg Abbey", VRT News, July 6, 2020
[edit]

50°53′19″N 4°41′48″E / 50.8885°N 4.6966°E / 50.8885; 4.6966

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