Postel Abbey is a Premonstratensian

Premonstratensian

The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...

 abbey in the Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 municipality of Mol

Mol (Belgium)

Mol is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Mol. On January 1, 2010 Mol had a total population of 34,113 inhabitants. The total area is 114.26 km² which gives a population density of 299 inhabitants per km².Mol is a popular holiday...

 in the province of Antwerp.

History

In 1138 Premonstratensian canons from Floreffe Abbey

Floreffe Abbey

Floreffe Abbey is a former Premonstratensian monastery, the second of the order to be founded, situated on the Sambre at Floreffe, about 11 km southwest of Namur, Belgium.-History:...

 founded the monastery at Postel as a dependent priory. In 1613 Postel became independent of Floreffe and in 1618 was raised to the status of abbey. In 1797, the abbey was closed, and the canons expelled, in the course of the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, when French troops invaded the Austrian Netherlands

Southern Netherlands

Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...

. In 1847, the community here was re-established, after which the abbey buildings were restored in several phases.

From 1943, until the end of World War II, Herman Van Breda

Herman Van Breda

Herman Leo Van Breda was a Franciscan, philosopher and founder of the Husserl archives at the Higher Institute of Philosophy of the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium....

 hid part of the manuscripts of Edmund Husserl

Edmund Husserl

Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...

 (Husserl Archives) in the abbey.

Architecture

The abbey church was built in the Rhineland

Rhineland

Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....

 Romanesque

Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 style and dates supposedly from the end of the 12th century (1190). The church has since been rebuilt several times, as a result of which the building shows some characteristics of Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 and Baroque styles

Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...

. The abbey was surrounded by walls, and partially surrounded by ditches.

Products of the abbey

Traditionally, Postel abbey produces Postel, the abbey beer. This beer is no longer brewed within the abbey itself but in a commercial brewery in Opwijk

Opwijk

Opwijk is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Mazenzele and Opwijk proper. On January 1, 2006 Opwijk had a total population of 12,239. The total area is 19.69 km² which gives a population density of 622 inhabitants per...

. The abbey also produces cheese. Since 1994, the monks have also exploited a botanical garden

Botanical garden

A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

 of medicinal plants, where they cultivate ginseng

Ginseng

Ginseng is any one of eleven species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae....

.

Sources

Postel Abbey official website Postel Abbey botanical garden