Tongerlo is a village and ''

deelgemeente A (, literally ''sub-municipality''), or section (), is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 January 1961 bu ...

'' (sub-municipality) of the municipality of

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. Th ...

in the province of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The village is located about south-east of the city of

Herentals Herentals () is a municipality and city in the province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Herentals proper and the towns of Morkhoven and Noorderwijk. In 2022, Herentals had a total population of 28,455. The total area is . Saint ...

. Tongerlo is best known for

Tongerlo Abbey Tongerlo Abbey is a Premonstratensian monastery at Tongerlo in Westerlo near Antwerp, Belgium. History It was founded in 1128 in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Giselbert of Kasterlee, who not only gave the land, but also himself became a l ...

founded in 1128 which became one of the most important abbeys of Belgium.

History

In 1128, the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

abbey of Tongerlo was founded in the village of Tongerlo. It was double monastery until 1140. The abbey developed into one of the most important abbeys of Belgium. The abbot became the Lord of the village ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch language, Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and Judiciary, judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking ...

'' (landed estate), and used to have joint judicial powers. In 1644, the abbey bought full judicial powers for the ''heerlijkheid''. The power of the abbey started to decline after 1773. In 1789 and 1790, the abbey participated in the

Brabant Revolution The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution (, ), sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed revolution, insurrection that occurred in the Austrian Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) between O ...

against the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...

. The revolutionaries were defeated, and abbey lost control over the ''heerlijkheid''. Tongerlo Abbey was dissolved in 1796 after the French Revolution, and the village of Tongerlo formed an independent municipality with hamlet of . The monastery returned to the abbey in 1840. Tongerlo remained independent until 1971 when it was merged into

Buildings and sights

founded in 1128, is the main sight in Tongerlo. The grounds contain the Our Lady Church, and the Da Vinci museum with a replica of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

's ''

The Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, '' The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic, 700 x 880 cm (22.9 x 28.8 ...

'' and a

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the ...

(In the Middle Age, farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church). The

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

Beddermolen is a wooden wind mill. There was a windmill at the location before 1535. The current wind mill dates from 1723 and was in service until 1948. It was restored in 1963, but was severely damaged by fire in 1967. In 1981, it was rebuilt and every undamaged piece of the former windmill was reused, but it was not able to grind. Between 2016 and 2017, the Beddermolen was restored to working order, and is in service every first and third Sunday of the month. Hof ter Bruelen is a castle built in 1915 in

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

style. It was constructed using material from older buildings like the 16th century

Egmont Palace The Egmont Palace (, ; ), also sometimes known as the Arenberg Palace (; ), is a neoclassical palace in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally built between 1548 and 1560 for Countess Françoise of Luxembourg and Count Lamoral of Egmont, though ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and the city of walls of

. The castle was designed by and contains a large park. Since 1987, Tongerlo organises an annual village festival during the second weekend in May.

Gallery

File:Tongerlo - Sint-Annakerk.jpg, St Anna Church File:Westerlo de Trannoyplein 24 - 155850 - onroerenderfgoed.jpg, Hof ter Bruelen File:Windmolen Beddermolen in Tongerlo.jpg, Windmill Beddermolen File:Tongerlo - Leeft ! (2011).JPG, Tongerlo Village Festival (2011)

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Antwerp Province Westerlo