None of Belgium's famous beer abbeys is more photogenic than Notre Dame, its sandstone glowing in the soft afternoon light. A Cistercian monastery since 1132, the complex had barely finished a total rebuild when, in 1793, it was wrecked by antireligious French Revolutionary soldiers. Rebuilding only restarted in the 1920s. The evocative ancient ruins were left to one side and can be visited along with an 18th-century pharmacy-room, audio-visual on monastic life (French/Dutch), medicinal herb garden and curious museum in part the labyrinthine vaults.
Visitors are welcome to attend offices in the monastery, and it's also possible to stay here (by arrangement) as part of a spiritual retreat ([email protected]), during which you’re encouraged to join in the daily cycle of prayers.
