History of the Abbey of Ename

The history of the Ename Village goes back to the Treaty of Verdun in 843 A.D., when the Empire of Charlemagne was divided into three pieces. The Scheld river was the border between the West and Middle Frank Empire. In 974 A.D., the Northern part of the Middel Empire was absorbed into the Eastern Empire to form the Holy Roman Empire. That year, three castles (Antwerp, Ename and Valenciennes) were built on the East side of the Scheld river to defend against attacks from the West, but also from attacks by marauding Vikings that came up the river from the North Sea. 

In about 100 years, the castle site of Ename had evolved into an importing, trading locale with a harbor and 2 churches. Documents prove that Ename was the most important settlement of the Duke of Lotharingen. The castle had a tower with walls ten feet thick, and was over one hundred feet tall, which was exceptional at that time.  Still, this fortification was not strong enough for Baldwin IV, the Duke of Flanders, who invaded and captured the castle and the surrounding town in 1033 A.D. Baldwin V changed the destination of Ename. He demilitarized it, and in 1063 A.D. his wife invited the  monks of the St. Benedictus order to convert the castle into an abbey. The merchants and other lay people moved to the new, nearby city of Oudenaarde. 

Over the next 700 years the monks expanded the territory, the influence, the wealth and the buildings of the abbey. It became not only a religious and cultural magnet, but on several occasions the abbots and the abbey played an important political role, as it was located along a very important trading route between Germany and France, and on the border between 3 different political forces: Flanders, Brabant and France. 

The glory of the abbey came to a violent end by the hands, muskets, canons and fire of the French Revolutionaries in 1794. Indeed, they killed all the monks that had not fled, confiscated all their belongings, and shipped the pieces of art to France. To end the drunken feast, they burned the abbey down to the ground.  The Parisian Paulee company bought the remaining stones, and sold them all over the French Empire. Today the site (about 30 acres) is an impressive ruin, well worth your visit.  A small museum, adjacent to the church, sponsored by the Roman Brewery, welcomes visitors and recreates the scenes of 1000 A.D. Hikers will also love the area, known as the outskirts of the Flemish Ardennes: hills, creeks and brooks, very green, small villages with cute little folksy pubs, and wooded patches.