The Abbey of Saint-Hubert, officially the Abbey of St Peter in the Ardennes, was a Benedictine monastery founded in the Ardennes in 687 and suppressed in 1797. The former abbey church is now a minor basilica in the diocese of Namur.
The monastery was founded in the village of Andage in 687 by Pepin of Herstal and his wife, Plectrude, for the monk Bergis. The remains of St Hubert (died 727) were installed in the monastery on 30 September 825. There were serious fires in the monastery in 1130, 1261, and 1525, and the building was sacked by Calvinists in 1568. The final suppression of the monastery took place in 1797.
The baroque facade strongly contrasts with its slender Gothic interior which is all light and colours. Descriptive booklet is available in English. Guided visits for groups on request (French, Dutch, German, English).
References:Saint-Émilion is a picturesque medieval village renowned for its well-preserved architecture and vineyards. The town and surrounding vineyards was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, owing to its long, living history of wine-making, Romanesque churches and ruins stretching all along steep and narrow streets.
An oppidum was built on the hill overlooking the present-day city in Gaulish times, before the regions was annexed by Augustus in 27 BC. The Romans planted vineyards in what was to become Saint-Émilion as early as the 2nd century. In the 4th century, the Latin poet Ausonius lauded the fruit of the bountiful vine.
Because the region was located on the route of the Camino de Santiago, many monasteries and churches were built during the Middle Ages, and in 1199, while under Plantagenet rule, the town was granted full rights.