Former abbey of Kortenberg

After a while, we arrive at the Gothic arched gate of the former abbey of Kortenberg. The gate is the oldest remaining part of a early 12th-century Benedictine foundation. The sandstone gatehouse was expanded and renovated in brick in the 18th century and possibly also in the 19th century. Behind the gate, a access road leads to the abbey buildings where the famous charter of Kortenberg was signed in 1312, a kind of first 'constitution of Brabant'. At the end of the 18th century, the abbess had a new, classical ceremonial wing built, a wide brick building with the grandeur of a castle. It now forms the most important remnant of the abbey. The two building levels of ten bays are topped with a hipped roof. Two round-arched doors with a simple yet monumental sandstone framing interrupt the clean lines. Against the classical building, a semi-circular Neo-Baroque chapel was built in 1934. The abbey castle is owned by the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels; the non-profit organization Oude Abdij is developing it as a spiritual center. A small community of Salvatorians also settled there. The estate is more accessible via Abdijstraat 22, just around the corner from Minneveldstraat.

Erfgoed Vlaanderen