When we moved to Heeswijk Dinther some 3.5 years ago, we did not know the place at all. We had no ties with it, there was no family, and I might have been there 2x in my life before we went to live there.
But soon after we came to live here we discovered that Heeswijk Dinther still has quite a bit of history. And also interesting objects that have really stood the test of time. Such as, for example :
Berne Abbey!
BERNE ABBEY GATE
Fulco van Berne.
The origins of the Abbey of Berne were in 1134 in the Gelderland town Berne aan de Maas. In this time it is just called Berne. Knight Fulco van Berne is the founder of the Abbey. The foundation came because knight Fulco was chased, could not escape, was surrounded on all sides ... and at that moment in despair he had made a promise to God. If he could escape his enemies, he would make a castle of his castle in Berne. Afterwards, with horse and weapons thrown into the Meuse and thus managed to escape. In the museum of religious arts in Uden there is also a canvas that shows this event. Fulco, very grateful for his escape, fulfilled his promise by establishing the Abbey of Berne in 1134, with which the Abbey of Berne is also the oldest Abbey in the Netherlands.
Augustinians and Norbertines.
Fulco starts his Abbey with Augustijnen from another Abbey but this creates a great chaos Fulco is not satisfied with and he sends back the Augustinians. This seems to be an early end of his Abbey but Fulco does not give up, he keeps his promise and his second attempt is with the order of Prémontré, also known as Norbertines. Fulco gets an abbot and a couple of monks from a nearby abbey to man the castle in Berne, and to ensure that this time will be peaceful and without chaos Fulco decides to join the order.
Fulco's wife chooses a religious life at the Norbertine monastery in Altforst, which is linked to Fulco's Abbey.
FRONT BERNE ABBEY
Different Guardians.
The Abbey of Berne has always had great names such as Guardians, who supported the Abbey financially and gave the Abbey their protection. The first Guardians were the Counts of Cleves, and in 1248 the Dukes of Brabant took over the tasks. They in their turn handed over the tasks to the Counts of Holland, and the last known Guardians were registered as the Dukes of Gelre.
Expansion.
The Abbey changed its way of working after more than a century. Where the Abbey was strictly monastic at first, this changed and their vision shifted too. Where it first revolved around 'Working IN the Abbey', this changed to 'Working OUTSIDE the Abbey'. The Abbey is now entering a new phase and both the spiritual and secular authority of the Abbey in the region is growing. Priests are sent to parishes and the parishes are often given to the abbey with all additional rights. This is how Berlicum already got in possession of the abbey in 1240. Heeswijk follows in 1284. Later in 1285 Oudheusden, Elshout, Hedikhuizen, Vlijmen, Engelen and in 1369 finally Bokhoven. In 1613 follows Lithoijen, Haarsteeg in 1846 and in 1948 Middelrode is entrusted to the concerns of the abbot of Berne. Finally, the Parish Heikant-Quirijnstok in Tilburg was transferred to the abbey in 1964.
In addition to parishes, the abbey has six outbuildings. These were three larger outcrops, also called proosdies, at Altforst, Maarsbergen (both donated by Fulco in 1134) and Honswijk (founded in 1265) and three smaller Bernheze outcrops (donation in 1196), Gaal and Mun (around 12th century, near Schaijk) and Babyloniënbroek (about 13th century).
Looting.
In 1572 the Abbey in Berne was looted and then set on fire. The Abbey remains empty, but monastic life is not over. The Abbey goods expire to the States of Holland, but the Norbertines have since withdrawn in 's-Hertogenbosch, and later in Uden, before they find shelter in Vilvoorde near Brussels, after which the Abbot Jan Moors settles in 1629 in Heeswijk, where the abbots of Berne have a little castle. The Castle Berne.
Definitive Establishment Heeswijk.
After having lived safely in Vilvoorde for 150 years, the French Revolution put an end to it and for a long time there is no real abduction life. It seems as if Fulco's legacy is lost. The Norbertine pastors live in all parishes and try to lead an abbey life, but it must remain hidden because it is not accepted. The Castle in Heeswijk has always been inhabited by the Norbertines and eventually in 1857 the Norbertines feel that they are more accepted again, and they want to start a real Abbey-life again. Now they choose The Castle in Heeswijk as their final location, and soon start with building a new church.
CHURCH BERNE ABBEY
Jump in time.
We make a big leap in time. Now that it is clear how the Abbey has arisen, the past of the Abbey and the fact that the Abbey Life has survived many far-reaching changes, it is time to look at the present. For does an Abbey still have the right to exist at this time? Does Monastic life still exist? And is there actually still a monastic life? What does the Monastic life look like today?
The Abbey appears to be able to exist well during this time. Where about 275 Norbertines lived in the heyday of the Abbey, some twenty Norbertines now live there. And they really live there according to the Monastic life. 3 times a day they have prayer and singing. But in addition, they certainly went with the times. They have woven the Religion they profess in this modern era with their own website, they have their own media company, they have their own bookshop where you can buy local products as well as books. Furthermore, the Abbey has its own Berne Abbey beer. And if you want to reflect for yourself, then that is also possible. You can namely Stay at the Abbey.
I am not a believer myself. But can enjoy a beautiful environment, a beautiful building, the peace and quiet, a good beer to drink and a nice garden to walk. The Monastic life is not spent on me, but the peace and reflection you can find there. A short escape from the busy reality of everyday life ... yes that is definitely worth it to me. Just come to yourself and recharge yourself ... that is very possible in the vicinity of:
Berne Abbey.
Photo's made in the garden of Berne Abbey.
WOW!!!
just wow
Beautiful pictures and it is always nice to know the history behind such a great place.
Good for that knight for being faithful to his words.
I wonder sometimes ... how long will these buildings and there history last, and how long will the history we build today last in the future.
thank you @hetty-rowan for providing knowledge about the history. this post is useful for everything.
Thank you!
Photography is very nice and I really liked this architectural pictures. It makes me remember my days of architectural photography.
Thank you for your nice comment. You did architectural photography? I'm curious to see some from you!
Would be sharing soon!
I really love reading about local history, especially when you can still see the physical evidence (the abbey). Interesting to see that they have a connection to Vilvoorde.
I really love your comment, and I love to do some little research on interesting objects. There's always a story behind it.
Lovely pictures and a wonderful history! It seems that Fulco van Berne kept his promise to god! Blessings and upvoted!
Thank you for reading and your nice comment.
Hallo.. @hetty-rowan I see you are using steemauto.
Follow me on steemauto with user: guslim and I will follback you.
If I have not follow up yet, you can contact me via watshapp message.
Link Watshapp
Hello @guslim, nice to see that you read my post! I spend hours on writing and looking for the right photo's to go with my blog ... so thank you very much for your related comment! It's really ... uhm, let's see, how I'm gonna say this, it's really .... ANNOYING to see you coming by, and all you can do is begging for me to follow you. I would suggest that you're gonna start with commenting on posts with words that show that you read other people's posts. Maybe you could write some quality content by your own, and you know what? If you do both these things ... and don't beg for people to follow you, then people will maybe follow you. Steemit is not all about the money. Steemit is about interacting. Make friends instead of begging.
But to be clear. NO I won't follow you unless you write some real good content that interests me, and unless you comment to my posts in a way that shows you really read it. Oh and something more, if you only can beg you will be flagged.
Thanks for the insight you gave me. this is very helpful to me, and I thank you. Thank you very much
I really enjoyed reading the history of the Abbey, and the pictures are lovely. It's a place I'd like to visit some day, maybe even stay there for a little retreat.
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by Hetty from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.
I really enjoyed the history lesson in this post, and the lovely photos! It's amazing to see a building made so long ago still standing and looking beautiful today. I would love to walk around there.
I find it the most interesting to read about how the monks there today have adapted to modern times by adopting things like websites--and beer!
I found this though @qurator's post promotion and am most happy I checked it out :)
So, are you a dog person or a Berne Abbey person lol!
Hahaha, both. I love my dogs, but I love some history and photography too
Thank you for the history behind the pictures. I like knowing the history.