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Liège

Verviers

Aubel

Val-Dieu Abbey

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Belgium

Wallonia

Wallonie

Liège

Verviers

Aubel

Val-Dieu Abbey

Recommended by 193 hikers out of 199

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Location: Aubel, Verviers, Liège, Wallonie, Wallonia, Belgium

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Best Hikes to Val-Dieu Abbey

4.8

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1. View of Val-Dieu Abbey – Val-Dieu Abbey loop from Aubel

12.9km

03:31

190m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

4.7

(22)

134

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2. Bel Stream – Val-Dieu Abbey loop from Saint-Jean-Sart

12.1km

03:23

250m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

4.7

(23)

139

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3. View of Val-Dieu Abbey – Val-Dieu Abbey loop from Julémont

14.1km

04:01

320m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

Tips

PeterH65 (a.k.a. "Waldorf")

August 14, 2022

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"The Cistercian Abbey of Val-Dieu is a highly valued place of pilgrimage and at the same time a traditional site of Belgian brewing in the Herve region.

The Abbey of Val-Dieu is located in the geographical center of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine, 25 km from Liège, Maastricht and Aachen. The abbey, whose origins date back to the 13th century, is now run by the Christian community of Val-Dieu."

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"The brewery is part of the abbey buildings, which is unique in Belgium.

Here, the monks' old recipes are still used for brewing. The brewery produces beers that are subsequently fermented in the bottle. These are authentic Belgian abbey beers that do not contain any added flavourings or spices and are made using the traditional infusion method.

In keeping with the monks' traditions, several beers with a distinctive and distinctive taste are produced: Blonde, Brune, Triple and Grand Cru."

belgien-tourismus-wallonie.de/de/content/abtei-und-brauerei-val-dieu

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PeterH65 (a.k.a. "Waldorf")

August 14, 2022

"... The Val-Dieu monastery (lat. Abbatia Vallis Dei; Old Dutch: Goidsdaele; German: Abtei Gottesthal) is a monastery complex of a former Cistercian abbey located about 4 km west of the municipality of Aubel in the Belgian province of Liège.

In the 12th century, the first Cistercian monks came to what was then the diocese of Liège and founded the Hocht Abbey in Neerharen, not far from the city of Maastricht, as a daughter monastery of Eberbach Abbey.

The construction of the Val-Dieu Abbey was made possible in 1216 after a donation from the Duke of Limburg and Count of Daelhem by monks from Hocht Abbey. It was built on a site near Aubel, in the fertile valley of the Berwinne river. It thus belonged to the filiation of the primary abbey of Clairvaux.

The monastery initially prospered, but suffered from financial difficulties towards the end of the 13th century. The abbey experienced a crisis in the 18th century. By 1625, the monks had to retreat to their refuge in Visé, 15 km away, because the abbey had been set on fire by (Protestant) Dutch troops in 1575. It was secularized in 1796. The last abbot, Jakob Uls, acquired some of the buildings (including the abbey church) in 1805, which later passed to his heirs.

In 1840, the last conventual of the old abbey, Bernhard Klinkenberg from Aachen, managed to reacquire the buildings, after which Val-Dieu was repopulated by Cistercians from Bornem in 1844. Father Klinkenberg became abbot and re-founded the abbey. The abbey church was rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style towards the end of the 19th century and consecrated in 1884. Some architectural elements from the 13th century have been preserved, such as the Romanesque mortuary gate, the sacristy and two chapels. The tower was only added in 1934. Between 1996 and 2000, the emeritus abbot of Hauterive, Bernhard Kaul, led the monastery as prior until he returned to Switzerland in 2000.

The monastery was inhabited by monks until 2001. Today, a Cistercian lay community lives and works here. Their main tasks are to cultivate prayer and inner-monastic life, to look after pilgrims and retreats.

Since 1997, several abbey beers have been brewed in the in-house brewery, which are marketed nationwide in retail stores and in the monastery shop next to the brewery..."

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kloster_Val-Dieu

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Im Do

June 11, 2025

More beautiful on the outside than on the inside

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Elevation 150 m

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Thursday 18 September

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Max wind speed: 16.0 km/h

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Location: Aubel, Verviers, Liège, Wallonie, Wallonia, Belgium

Val-Dieu Abbey

1. View of Val-Dieu Abbey – Val-Dieu Abbey loop from Aubel

2. Bel Stream – Val-Dieu Abbey loop from Saint-Jean-Sart

3. View of Val-Dieu Abbey – Val-Dieu Abbey loop from Julémont

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