Opgrimbie

The Abbey of Notre Dame du Vivier was named after a wooden statue of Mary and the child Jesus, which, according to legend, was pulled from a pond. This place was called Marche les Dames and referred to the women from Namur and the surrounding areas who sought refuge there when their husbands, fathers, and sons went on a Crusade to Jerusalem with Godfrey of Bouillon.

The abbey is believed to have been founded between the years 1000 and 1100. Bernard of Clairvaux is said to have preached the Second Crusade from this abbey.

Until the French Revolution, the Cistercians remained active here. After the French period, various other monastic orders came. One of them was the contemplative sister order of Notre Dame de Bethléem, better known as the sisters who moved to the royal domain of Opgrimbie through the intervention of King Baldwin. Currently, the restored abbey houses the order of the Canadian Madonna House. The abbey church is still used as a parish church today.

Dromos