Orval Abbey
The Golden Valley (“Val d’Or” in French which was reversed to become “Orval”) has been a centre of Christianity, brewing and hospitality in the glorious countryside of the Belgian Ardennes since the eleventh century. Today, its monks brew one of the best-known Belgian Trappist beers and offer retreats for all seeking to recharge their batteries away from the hustle and bustle of our modern world.
The medicinal herb-garden of the Orval Abbey
Ruines of the Orval Abbey
Guided tour at Orval Abbey
The abbey’s coat of arms is a reference to a legend
Golden valley
The abbey’s coat of arms is depicted on each bottle of beer and in many locations in the abbey buildings: it features a trout with a golden ring in its mouth. This is a reference to the legend which states that Matilda of Tuscany (1046-1115), the widowed Duchess of Lower Lorraine, stopped on a journey to drink from a spring, and dropped her gold wedding ring into the water. She prayed and offered to found an abbey in this “Golden valley” if her ring was found, whereupon a trout surfaced in the spring with the ring in its mouth. Matilda kept her promise and a Cistercian abbey was founded near the spring in 1132. The spring still supplies the abbey and the brewery with water.
Lake at Orval Abbey
The "Green" Orval at the Ange Gardien (hostel)
Guided tour at Orval Abbey
History of the abbey
The abbey was burned down in 1252 and rebuilt, then it was pillaged by French soldiers during the Thirty Years’ War in 1637. In 1793, the monks gave hospitality to an Austrian army during the French Revolution, and was then burned to the ground by French Revolutionaries, who forcibly evicted the monks. The abbey ruins and lands then passed into private hands until 1926, when the owners donated it to the Cistercians, who built a new abbey and church, which was consecrated in 1948.
Brewing beer, a mediaeval tradition
The mediaeval tradition of brewing beer at Orval Abbey was revived in 1931 to generate funds for the rebuilding, and it proved highly successful, due to the unique blend of hops and yeasts used. Orval Trappist beer is amber-coloured and has a distinctive dry taste, making it an ideal apéritif. It is sold in distinctive skittle-shaped bottles and served in a chalice-like glass. All profits from its sale go to fund the abbey and other charities.
The new abbey was built with a retreat centre, offering simple accommodation to guests who need a break from the hectic modern world. They are welcome, but not obliged, to join the monks at the daily services in the abbey church. The peace and quiet of the surrounding countryside and the ruins of the mediaeval abbey are certainly a tonic!
Visitors can buy beer in the abbey shop and tavern (including the rare Green Orval beer, only sold here) and can also see an exhibition on the brewing process and can visit a garden of medicinal plants. Artworks belonging to the abbey are usually on display too.
Orval beer
Visitors in the medicinal herb-garden
More information
Orval, n°1,
B-6823 Villers-devant-Orval
Tel.: +32 (0) 61 31 10 60
accueil@orval.be
www.orval.be
