The main building of the abbey or the abbey castle

Originally, there was a residence of recluses or hermits on the Curtenberg. This was mentioned in 1095. In the 13th century, the community moved to the valley in Minneveld.

They then built a new abbey and adopted the rule of St. Benedict. In 1312, the famous Charter of Kortenberg was signed here. In 1777, Beatrix de Villers was elected as the last Benedictine abbess of Kortenberg. At the end of the 18th century, the new abbey church and the new main building, or abbey castle, were erected. The main building was constructed between 1779 and 1783 in neoclassicism. In 1798, the abbey was sold as "black property" by the French. The buyers were Van Grave and Vanden Burggraaf-Spruyt. Most of the buildings were demolished during the French period, including the new abbey church. At the end of the Dutch administration, the abbey was once again a single property, namely that of Joseph Charles van Grave, who was mayor of Kortenberg from 1819 to 1829. He sold the abbey complex in 1829 to Baron Albert d’Eesbeeck Vanderhaeghen. Through the marriage of Baroness Julie d’Eesbeeck Vanderhaeghen with Jean-Amand Matthieu, the estate manager of the goods d’Eesbeck in Kortenberg, the abbey came into the hands of the Matthieu family. In 1897, the abbey was sold. The main building came into the hands of Judge Paul Salkin, the grandson of the Baroness. His brother-in-law Joseph Chantraine (+1910) designed his aircraft 'the aéromobile' here. Painter Marie Salkin-Lambiotte and her son painter Emile Salkin lived here. The famous surrealist painter Paul Delvaux often visited here to see his friend Emile Salkin.

In 1933, the abbey complex was sold to the public. Canon François Misonne purchased the buildings. He built the half-round baroque abbey chapel and the traditional knight's hall in 1934. Cardinal Van Roey consecrated this chapel in 1934. The Sisters of the Cenacle had a retreat house here from 1952 to 1976. The abbey castle is the property of the Archdiocese of Mechelen. The management was successively in the hands of the Redemptorist Fathers, the Ursuline Sisters, laypeople, and the Salvatorian Fathers. In 1960, a new wing was added at the back according to the plans of architect P. Rome from Brussels. The abbey's salon reflects the glory of the 18th century. Here we find portraits of Maria Laermans, who governed the abbey from 1671 to 1682, and of Beatrix de Villers, the last abbess of Kortenberg, as well as two medallions of Beatrix de Villers and estate manager Gregorius Desneux, manager of the abbey's assets from 1778 to 1796. In the salon, we also find the coats of arms of the abbey and of the last abbess.
Bibliography:
A.WAUTERS. Histoire des environs de Bruxelles, 8B, (reissue 1973 of the 1855 book), p. 384-408.

J.ROUART-CHABOT. Abbaye de Cortenberg-Monasticon Belge. Part IV. Province of Brabant. Volume I, p. 243-267.

F.MAES. Kortenberg, its abbey, its old residences -Eigen Schoon and De Brabander, 1955, p. 199-220.

H. VANNOPPEN. The abbey castle of Kortenberg in the New Regime - The Brabantian Folklore, 1977, p. 13-91, p. 165-206.

H. VANNOPPEN. Abbey Kortenberg. 1986, 24 p.

C.BORGIONS. The abbey of Kortenberg against nobility and patricians in Brabant 1095-1572. 1990, 137 p.

H. VANNOPPEN. One hundred Kortenberg buildings. Winksele, 1991, p. 21-23 (No. 7. The Abbey of Kortenberg).

C.BORGIONS. A visit to the abbey – in H. VANNOPPEN. Kortenberg 1095-1995. Borgerhout, 1995, p. 97-110.

Gemeente Kortenberg