Ename Abbey (1063–1795) was a Benedictine monastery in the village of Ename, now a suburb of Oudenaarde. It was founded by Adele of France, wife of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, and was confiscated during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was then sold and dismantled.
Around 1070 the new abbey was finished and was founded a second time with the dedication to Saint Salvator. In 1139 the Ottonian church was replaced by a bigger Romanesque church. The abbey was flourishing as it had acquired many properties that provided a steady income. Around 1165 the abbey buildings were replaced by larger and more decorated buildings in the new Gothic style.
The woods around Ename had been intensively exploited. For this reason during the 13th century the abbey started a programme of forestry by planting trees and harvesting the wood. This action seems to be the oldest record of reforestation in Europe.
During the 16th century, Europe and Flanders were shaken by revolts and civil wars provoked by an economic crisis and the diffusion of the Protestantism. Many religious buildings, including the abbey of Ename, were destroyed. Minor damage occurred during the 1566 Iconoclastic Fury, while the occupation of Oudenaarde by the Protestant troops of the city of Ghent in 1578 was disastrous for the abbey. The monks had to flee, the abbey buildings were plundered. Their ruins were used as a stone quarry until the return of the monks. In 1596 they started the rebuilding of the abbey. At the end of this period, more than half of the population of Ename had left their houses. With the return of the monks, the abbey reclaimed its property in the village and influence on the lives of the inhabitants of Ename. To emphasise this, a cross and a pillory were erected on the rectangular square of the village.
During the 17th century the abbey was very rich and its buildings were majestic. In 1657 abbot Antoon de Loose enlarged the abbot's quarters and also asked Pieter Hemony, a famous Dutch bell-founder, to cast the bells and the chimes for the carillon tower that he wanted at the entrance of the abbey. Abbot de Loose was a skilled manager of the abbey properties. Thanks to his accurate register, several details of everyday life are known today.
Abbots were involved in the political life of the county as members of the States of Flanders. As it was forbidden to discuss political matters inside the walls of the abbey, a large, modern French garden with fountains and pavilions was built in front of the abbey. There it was possible for the abbots to meet other politicians and discuss affairs of state with them.
The abbey was dismantled in 1795, when the French Revolution arrived in Flanders. Today it is possible to visit the remains of the foundations in the Provincial archaeological park of Ename.
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