- Rochefort Abbey
The Trappist Abbey of Rochefort or Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy, which belongs to the Cistercians of Strict Observance, is located in Rochefort in the
province of Namur (Wallonia ,Belgium ). The abbey is famous for its spiritual life and its brewery, which is one of fewTrappist beer breweries in the world. Life in the abbey is characterised by prayer, reading and manual work, the three basic elements of Trappist life. The motto of the abbey is "Curvata Resurgo".History
Early history
Around 1230, Gilles de Walcourt,
count of Rochefort founded amonastery for Cistercian nuns called "Secours de Notre-Dame". In 1464 Louis de la Marck ordered the nuns to leave the monastery which had decayed and they were replaced bymonks . The monastery was the latest "Daughter-house" of the abbey of Abbey of Cîteaux. During theEighty Years War the abbey was ravaged by theprotestant armies of theSeventeen Provinces (1568) and theAustria n armies ofJohn of Austria (1577). Around 1595, the firstbrewery was founded within the abbey.In the 17th century the abbey suffered from
war ,famine and theplague . On 30 April 1650, an army from Lorraine, lead bybaron Châtelet, invaded the abbey. The monks had to flee toMarche , as well as in 1652 and 1653.In 1789 the French revolutionary army invaded the
Austrian Netherlands , and in 1797 the abbey was closed and sold to Lucien-Jospeh Poncelet. Poncelet demolished the abbey around 1805 and converted it to a farm. Material of the abbey was used for buildings in Rochefort.Modern history
On
11 October 1887 , father Anselmus Judong from theTrappist Abbey of Achel came to the old abbey and on21 December 1887 the buildings were bought by the monks of Achel. The abbey was restored and new buildings were raised. A new brewery was founded, but it would take until 1952 for the brewery to produce enough beer to be sold.ource
* A. Fourneau, "L’abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy à Rochefort : Histoire d’une communauté cistercienne en terre de Famenne", 239 p., Rochefort, 2002
* J. Van Remoortere, "Ippa's Abdijengids voor Belgie", Lannoo, 1990External links
* [http://www.trappistes-rochefort.com/ Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy] (French)
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