Park Abbey was founded in 1129 by Duke Godfrey, who possessed an immense park near Leuven and had invited the Premonstratensians to take possession of a small church he had built there.
Abbot Philip and his successors enlarged the buildings and prepared the land for agriculture in the late 12th century. At the time there a canon living in the abbey, Blessed Rabado, whose devotion to the Passion was attested by miracles.
Abbot Gerard van Goetsenhoven (1414–34) had much to do with the establishment of the Catholic University of Leuven, and was also delegated by John IV, Duke of Brabant to transact state affairs with the King of England and the Duke of Burgundy. Abbot van Tulden (1462–94) was successful in his action against commendatory abbots being imposed on religious houses in Belgium. Abbot van den Berghe (1543–58) managed the contributions levied in support of the Belgian theologians present at the resumed Council of Trent.
The abbey frequently suffered during the wars waged by William of Orange and the Calvinists. Under Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, the abbey was confiscated, because Abbot Wauters (died in 1792) refused to send his religious to the general seminary erected by the emperor at Leuven. In the successful revolution against the emperor, the religious returned to their abbey. Wauters was succeeded by Melchior Nysmans (1793–1810).
Under the French Republic the abbey was confiscated again on 1 February 1797. At the request of the people the church was declared to be a parish church and was thus saved. The abbey was bought by a friendly layman who wished to preserve it for the religious, in better times. One of the canons, in the capacity of parish priest, remained in or near the abbey.
When Belgium was made a kingdom and religious freedom was restored, the surviving religious resumed community life and elected Peter Ottoy, then rural dean of Diest, as their superior.
Today Park Abbey is an exceptionally well preserved 12th-century heritage site on the outskirts, surrounded by green space. It is open to the public.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.