Panorama Abbaye de Val Dieu

A panorama of the Abby of Gods Valley.
This time not the front but the backyard of the abbey.

The abbey is a former cistercian abbey in the municipality of Aubel in the Belgian province of Liège. The abbey, founded in the early 13th century, is now a reflection center and a visitor center with, among other things, public access park, a brewery, a restaurant and a shop.

The abbey of Val-Dieu originated in the early 13th century as an extension of the abbey of Hocht (near Maastricht), a monastery that developed into a noble foundation for women in this period. In 1203, the abbey in Weerst already bought a piece of land to build a new abbey for cistercian monks. However, in 1216, the then Count of Dalhem, Lotharius of Are Hochstaden, landed for a new abbey in the Land of Herve, precisely on the border of the county of Dalhem and the duchy of Limburg. In this place, in the thinly populated Berwijn valley, a thriving monastic community emerged in a short period of time. Later, the abbot of Godsdal took a seat in the Dalhem State Assembly. From 1598 the abb was delegated in the states of Limburg and the countries of Overmaas.

The abbey was plagued several times by fire. In 1286, a fire destroyed the church, which was built back in 1331. Protestant insurgents, according to some Dutch or state troops, ceased the church and the monastery in 1574. The reconstruction was only completed in 1625.

Under the French occupation, the convent orders were abolished, including the Cistercians. The abbey was seized by the French and resold in 1798 to the abbot, which lived until his death in 1812. In 1840, the last surviving monk succeeded in buying the abbey's abbey. In 1844, once again, monks from the Saint Bernard abbey in Bornem settled in the complex, which became a priority from that moment on.

In February 2002 the last three monks left the priority. Their place is occupied by a Christian leak community, inspired by Benedict's rule and the tradition of the cistercians.