CENTRAL WALLONIA 199Atmospheric ruins of the Cistercian Abbaye de Villers, the backdrop for summer concerts
Abbaye de Villers 6
Rue de l’Abbaye 55, Villers-la-Ville;
15 km (9 miles) S of Louvain-la-
Neuve. Road Map C3. Tel (071)
- £ # Apr–Oct: 10am–6pm
daily; Nov–Mar: 10am–5pm Wed–
Mon. & 9 http://www.villers.be
The great Cistercian Abbaye
de Villers was founded in
1146 and its large church was
built over the following half-
century. However, the abbey
suffered the familiar fate of so
many ecclesiastical buildings
in Belgium – it was wrecked
by Protestant rebels in the 16th
century and finally destroyed
by the French Revolutionary
Army in 1794. The result
is the largest set of church
ruins in Belgium – a haunting
ensemble surrounded by a
park. Much of the essential
architecture of the monastery
is visible, including the clois-
ters, refectory, dormitory and
brewery. The site makes a
spectacular venue for open-air
concerts and theatre produc-
tions during the summer.
Nivelles 7
21 km (13 miles) SW of Louvain-la-
Neuve. Road Map C3. * 24,000.
£ @ n Rue de Saintes 48; (067)The capital of the Roman Païs
(Roman Land), a region so
named for the Latin-based
dialect formerly spoken here,
Nivelles is a pretty town with
a long history dating back to
an abbey founded in around
AD 650 by the ancestors of
Charlemagne. The first abbess
was a famously gentle-natured
daughter of the family, to
whom the abbey church,
the Collégiale Ste-Gertrude,
is dedicated. The abbesses
thereafter were all of noble
birth, and the abbey became
a rich and powerful institution
right up to the time that it
was closed by the French
Revolutionary Army in 1798.The abbey’s massive church
survived this turbulent period.
Completed in 1046, it was
built in a Byzantine-influenced
style called Ottonian (after the
three 10th-century Holy Roman
Emperors called Otto). The
dominant feature, the tower-
ing west façade, the Westbau,
effectively forms a second
transept. It has a semicircular
apse and rises five storeys
high, flanked by towers and
topped by an octagonal bell-
tower containing a carillon of
49 bells. The sheer scale, sim-
plicity and dignity of the inte-
rior are impressive, underlined
by the contrasting exuberance
of the 18th-century Baroque
oak-and-marble pulpit. Also
on display is the 15th-century
wooden cart, which, drawn by
horses, carries the reliquary of
Ste Gertrude in a costumed
pro cession through the town
and surrounding countryside
each autumn. Inside the West-
bau are two gallery chapels
and a large Salle Impériale
(Imperial Hall). The cloisters
outside once connected the
church to the abbey.
The town itself suffered
widespread damage in 1940,
when much of the historic
centre, including the church,
was set alight, but all has
been meticulously restored.R Collégiale Ste-Gertrude
Grand Place. Tel (067) 840864.
# 9am–5pm Mon–Sat, 2–5pm
Sun. & for guided tours only.
8 2pm daily, 3:30pm Sat and Sun;
The awe-inspiring west façade of compulsory for Westbau and crypt.
Collégiale Ste-Gertrude in Nivellesthe centuries, the caves have
been used as dwellings, a
quarry for phosphates and
lime, and a refuge in times of
war. Between 1793 and 1797,
they were a haven for those
enduring the sup pression
of religion by the French
Revolutionary armies. Later,
the caves were used as a
dance hall and, after 1886, for
the cultivation of mushrooms.
The town and citadel of Namur rising above the banks of River Meuse