Nizelles Abbey 2.38

Nizelles Abbey was an abbey of Cistercian monks located in Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac in Braine-l'Alleud, Walloon Brabant, Belgium, on the francophone side of the language frontier, and a short distance to the south of Brussels.It was founded in 1441, which makes it one of the last Cistercian foundations in the Southern Netherlands, and it was closed down in 1783 under a decree from the "Enlightenment Emperor", Joseph II, probably as part of his wider programme of closing down as "unnecessary" monasteries in the Habsburg lands identified as "purely contemplative".Less than twenty years ago it was extensively restored: it has been relaunched as a high-end conference centre.OriginsThe abbey originated as a little college set up by the monks from to educate younger members of the local nobility. Over the years a succession of donations from grateful former pupils, backed up by generous financial support from Christine de Franckenberg, abbess over the canonesses at nearby Nivelles, made it possible for the little priory at Nizelles to be expanded into an abbey.A new church was consecrated in 1441 by John of Burgundy, Bishop of Cambrai. The first abbot, Jean de Mons, received benediction from the bishop in the presence of Gérard de Louvain, the abbot of Villers. The act recognising the new foundation nevertheless stipulated that it should continue to be a daughter house of Moulins-Warnant Abbey.