Ermeton Abbey

Ermeton Abbey is a monastery of Benedictine nuns in a medieval castle in the Belgian village of Ermeton-sur-Biert.

Ermeton Abbey
Monastère des Bénédictines d'Ermeton
Ermeton Abbey, formerly Ermeton Castle
Monastery information
OrderOrder of Saint Benedict
Established1936
DioceseNamur
Architecture
Functional statusmonastery
Heritage designationlisted built heritage
Designated date1973
Site
Coordinates50.2988°N 4.7170°E / 50.2988; 4.7170
Websitehttp://www.ermeton.be/index.php

Castle

In the early 14th century, John I, Marquis of Namur made Jacquemin de Bossoit lord of Ermeton. The lordship passed by inheritance for 300 years until bought by ironmaster Richard Godart in 1612. In 1856, Antoinette de Mérode, princess of Monaco, sold the castle, which in 1870 passed by marriage to the Villermont family. The last heir of the Villermonts, Count Henry de Villermont, died in combat on 5 September 1914, and is commemorated at the entrance to the castle. In 1936, the castle was rented by a community of Benedictine nuns, who bought it outright in 1942.[1] The building was designated as built heritage of Belgium in 1973.[2]

Community

The community of Benedictine nuns that moved to Ermeton in 1936 had been founded in Brussels in 1917 by Eugène Vandeur, a monk of Maredsous Abbey.

The monastery operates a guesthouse.[3]

Two other abbeys, both now independent houses, were founded from Ermeton: Maria Heimsuchung in Steinfeld (Kall, North Rhine-Westphalia), Germany, and Abadia Santa Maria de Guadalupe, Ahuatepec, Mexico.

References
  1. Historique, Ermeton Abbey website. Accessed 15 January 2016.
  2. Heritage listing on the Portail Wallonie website. Accessed 15 January 2016.
  3. Kevin J. Wright, Europe's Monastery and Convent Guesthouses (Liguori Publications, 2008), p. 73.
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