anglomedved

In reply a comment on yesterday’s post, if you want some places in Belgium where there is something very positive in the air, I have two favourites in the south of the country. One is Walcourt, about 20 km of Brussels, with a pilgrimage church and a much-venerated statue of the Virgin. The old place names on the large-scale maps show that a lot of the surrounding area was once abbey land. Another is Lobbes, 15 km to the north-west of it, overlooking the River Sambre, with one of the oldest churches in Belgium, dating back to the 9th century (unfortunately over-restored in the 19th century). Just to the north also lies the Abbey of Aulne, which fell prey to invading French troops in 1793.

Unfortunately I have almost no photos of Walcourt, but I include one of Lobbes and another of the Abbey of Aulne.

There is also a good map, with mini-descriptions (in English) of all Belgian abbeys, past and present, on http://www.belgium-mapped-out.com/abbeys.html.