Plan to create a garden inspired by the middle ages
Around the year 650, Remacle, a monk from Aquitaine, settled in Amblève Valley and founded an abbey in Malmedy, then in Stavelot. The two Benedictine communities lived in parallel from the 7th to the 18th century under the aegis of one and the same abbot. The sixty abbots who followed Saint Remacle turned Stavelot into a highly renowned cultural centre.
A vast Romanesque church was built as of the 11th century to welcome pilgrims who flocked to venerate the relics of Saint Remacle. In the mid-12th century, Abbot Wibald enlarged the site, and in the following century, the abbey became a principality of the German empire. Nevertheless, at the end of the 15th century, when the Prince-Abbot Guillaume Manderscheidt took over the helm of the abbey, the buildings were in a poor state. He undertook to build a new tower, and his successors extended the works to the entire building. Unfortunately, the town was set on fire in 1689 by the army of Louis XIV. Whereas the 18th century was a period of peace and calm, the French revolution rumbled and in July 1794, the monks were forced to flee to Germany where they had sheltered their archives and silverware. The abbey was abolished on 1 September 1796 and sold like a national asset.
A considerable part of the old abbey has fortunately been preserved and listed since 1958. Moreover, the archaeological site of the old abbey church has been put on the Exceptional Heritage of Wallonia List.
The ancient abbey plays host to several museums:
· The Interpretation Centre of the Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy;
· The Spa-Francorchamps Racecourse Museum;
· The Guillaume Apollinaire Museum.
Maintenance and promotion of the Abbey
The ancient abbey is promoted and developed for tourism by Wallonia through the Institute (on 1st January 2018 : “Wallonia Heritage Agency”, new designation), backed by the ET&C association which develops and runs the Abbey’s museums. The site welcomes more than 50,000 visitors per year.
Plan to create a garden in the cloister
A garden inspired by the middle ages will be created in the Abbey’s cloister (which is enclosed on its sides by three wings that play host to the museums and a glazed gallery which serves as a reception for visitors) to grow medicinal plants. It will be designed on the basis of historical documents on the gardens of the Middle Ages and will be used for new educational events. It will moreover embellish the peaceful setting, where one of the terraces of the Café des Musées extends in the summer.
Fundraising:
The Agency is seeking to raise $41.000 to create the garden and lawns, including the signs. The association’s team will see to the maintenance of this green space.
Contact: Association ET&C – Espaces Tourisme Culture
Cour de l’Abbaye, 1
4970 Stavelot – Belgium
E-mail: v.gauthier@abbayedestavelot.be
Wallonia Heritage Agency – Thomas Deruyver
thomas.deruyver@awap.be
+32 81 654 166