The Orval Abbey

Orval Abbey

The history of this prestigious abbey dates back to 1070. A group of Italian Benedictine monks chose an uninhabited valley as the site for a new abbey, which soon developed into an important Christian stronghold. The abbey was destroyed several times, but each time it rose again from the ashes. Its most recent “renaissance” began in 1926, when Cistercian monks from Sept-Fons in France rebuilt the ruins left behind by the French Revolution and established a brewery and cheese dairy to help finance the reconstruction. This enormous project was led by Marie-Albert van der Cruyssen from Ghent, a monk from La Trappe Abbey in Soligny, France. A former entrepreneur, he later became the first abbot of the new monastery. The plans were drawn up by his friend, engineer and architect Henry Vaes, who would work on the project for twenty years. The new abbey was built on the remains of the 18th-century complex. The abbey church was consecrated in 1948.