Today Villers Abbey is a ruin, but a stunning ruin at that. As you walk around this medieval place, you can certainly imagine what a glorious and influential site it must have been when it was built in 1146. It is one of the most preserved Abbey ruins in Europe, since it features remnants of each building that was used daily.
“This extensive monastic complex constructed in the 13th century is an evocative memorial to the small Cistercian community which initially settled here in 1146. Within two centuries of its founding, the monastery had become a wealthy landowner with more than three thousand brothers, 100 monks and an abbot running a large estate of more than 100 square kilometres.”
Wallonia Belgium Tourism
In the summer of 2017, we were fortunate enough to be able to travel to this beautiful place and have my daughter Katie’s high school senior pictures taken there. To that end, the photo creds for the first gallery here belong to my wonderful and talented friend Catherine. You can find more of her work here: https://www.photosparks.com She lives in Arkansas now, and would love to accommodate your photo needs. The second gallery you’ll find below are pictures taken by me on the same day!
I hope you enjoy these photos, and I hope it inspires you to perhaps go the long way around, the next time you are in Europe, en route to Brussels, Amsterdam or Paris. Just take a short detour to this lovely monument of history and beauty on your way. You won’t regret it.