For more than a century, the towers of the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Koningshoeven have formed a significant element in the landscape east of Tilburg. Anyone taking the back road from Tilburg to Moergestel passes by the monastery complex just outside the city limits. Why did monks choose to settle here at the end of the nineteenth century? And how did they fare?

A Refuge
In 1880, Dom Dominicus Lacaes, abbot of the Trappist monastery Sainte-Marie-du-Mont on Mont-des-Cats in northern France, became concerned about the fate of his monks. At that time, antichurch legislation threatened the existence of French monasteries and the future didn’t look so rosy. The monks of Mont-des-Cats were prepared for the fact that they would soon have to leave France. Actually, it never reached that point, but the situation did become so disturbing that the abbot decided to send one of his monks, Sebastian Wyart, in search of a place of refuge outside the country. Wyart chose The Netherlands, a country which offered hospitality to persecuted religious. He found just what he was looking for in the area around Tilburg, near the little town of Berkel-Enschot: an area of open heath with several small farmhouses and a sheepfold. The local people called this area 'Koningshoeven' (The King’s Farmhouses) since these had once been owned by King William II.

Trappist Brewery

The sheepfold was converted into a temporary monastery and on March 5, 1881, the first Eucharist was celebrated in Koningshoeven, thus making the establishment of the first Cistercian monastery in The Netherlands since the Reformation a reality. Before the Reformation there had been numerous Cistercian abbeys in The Netherlands, primarily in the North, but the rise of Protestantism and the independence of the

northern provinces in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries brought an end to these monasteries.
To earn their living, the monks began reclaiming and cultivating the poor land in Koningshoeven, but it soon became evident that the costs exceeded the profits. A solution had to be found, especially since more and more candidates for monastic life were requesting admission and the place of refuge became a permanent foundation. When it reached the point that the farm couldn’t provide for the most basic necessities of life, the superior, Nivard Schweykart, decided to start a small brewery. This would be the beginning of the only Dutch Trappist brewery and, to this very day, it is the most important source of income for the monastery.

Foundations

In 1891, Koningshoeven was raised to the status of an abbey and, under the leading of its first Abbot, Dom Willibrord Verbruggen, began to build a new, imposing monastery. The monks moved into the finished complex in July, 1893, and the temporary accommodation was demolished. On September 17, 1894, the solemn dedication of the Abbey Church was celebrated.
Rather soon after this, in 1900, Koningshoeven founded the abbey 'Mary our Refuge' in Zundert,

which grew into a flourishing community. In 1936, at the request of many of their female relatives, the monks began building a Trappistine Abbey in Berkel-Enschot, Our Lady of Koningsoord, the only Cistercian Abbey for women in The Netherlands. Koningsoord in turn has made foundations in Germany (1955) and Uganda (1964). Koningshoeven has also made foundations in Indonesia (Mary of the Fertile Swamp, founded in 1953 and raised to an independent abbey in 1978) and in Kenya (Our Lady of Victoria, founded in 1958 and raised to an independent abbey in 1967).

Radical Decision
After the war, the number of young men entering the monastery decreased drastically and many monks left the monastery. The average age of the community increased and the need for nursing care for sick monks and older monks grew. After much deliberation, especially considering the future of the Abbey, the community made a radical decision in 1997: the monks needing the most nursing care went to a Nursing Home for Religious in Vught. This group of monks has its own community life in House Sparrendaal, adapted to their age and their health needs. During the past few years, the monastic complex at Koningshoeven has been thoroughly renovated. The younger group of 16 who now live at the Abbey have chosen to make a new start at the historical place where it all began back in 1881, aged between 24 and 81 years.

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