Tour Val Des Ecoliers, Belgium

BE-94011

Near Mons station (100 meters), you can see, emerging from buildings, a picturesque building also enigmatic, high square tower with four floors, no roof, just crowned with a stone balustrade. It is the tower of the ancient abbey of Val-des-Schoolboys.

The tower of the same name at the front of the rue André Masquelier, is made of white stone and brick. It demonstrates a Renaissance without exaggerations of the time. On the east side, there is a low arch door with finials and brackets, dating from the fifteenth century. North side, the main entrance is topped by a beautiful niche that once housed a statue of the Virgin. Above, barely visible, the arms of the Father Melchior Joseph Honner who rebuilt the abbey. Saved in 1892 In 1876, the city of Mons decreed the demolition of abandoned buildings of the abbey to establish a large section street. Only a few buildings and the tower remained. But it did not have so sympathy Communal Council and many were anxious advisers disappear. Fortunately, the lively discussions which she was subjected in the Council ended with a verdict in his favor, and August 1, 1892, the Assembly voted to conservation and restoration. And remained curious witnessed a powerful institution in the city, and was preserved one of the jewels of the architectural glory of Mons.

The Abbey of the Val des Ecoliers was a monastery of the Order of St. Augustine, transferred from Valencia in Mons in 1252. First Priory Abbey goes back in its constitution in 1617. The monks were called "Schoolchildren". This community was suppressed for the first time in 1789 and then permanently in 1796 under the French regime. Since the Revolution, the abbey was assigned to various uses: arsenal, meeting facilities, shops. In 1805, the City moved to the Civil Hospital which operated until 1876, when he was transferred to the building it occupies today.