Old Abbey

To the left and right of the church are the buildings of the former Norbertine abbey. It was Iwein van Aalst who brought the Norbertines to Drongen in 1134. The buildings had a turbulent history of destruction and reconstruction.
The current oldest buildings date from the second half of the 17th century. During the industrial revolution, Lieven Bauwens founded a cotton spinning mill here. In 1837, the Jesuits acquired the complex to accommodate their trainee candidates. In the second half of the 19th century, the abbey housed a novitiate. From the 20th century it has been known as the De Oude Abdij reflection centre. The showpiece of the Old Abbey is the beautiful neo-Gothic chapel. It was built in the second half of the 19th century by order of the Jesuits by Baron Jean-Baptiste Béthune, one of the founders of the Neo-Gothic.
The Old Abbey can only be visited on special occasions or by reservation. It is currently an Ignatian reflection and conference center, based on the spiritual exercises written by Ignatius Of Loyola.

More info on www.oudeabdij.be

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