Abdij van Berne

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Introduction

CLOISTER BUILDING, erected in 1857-1858 as the oldest cloister building under abbot G. Neefs in neoclassical forms with on the north side a CHAPTER HALL/ PRIVATE CHAPEL, erected in neogothic forms. The building is situated between the cloister building of 1867-1870 and the abbey church of 1881 and 1927.

Description

Originally detached cloister wing of a townhouse typology, consisting of two storeys under combined roofs covered with Meuse slate. Symmetrical in layout; front facade of seven bays. Facades constructed in handmade brick, laid in English bond. On each corner of the front facade and in the slightly projecting central section, which is crowned with a pediment with cornice, there is a brick pilaster with an empty round-arched niche for a sculptural work. Door and windows are straight-topped and crowned with a cock's comb. All windows and also the niches have ashlar sills, the windows on the ground floor have rear-light windows, those on the upper floor have six-light windows. All windows have a noticeably wide central mullion. Double clinched door with iron fittings and a divided fanlight. Finely detailed door frame. In the rear wings light access is provided by large windows topped with a segmental arch and glazing bars. In the pediment a sundial has been placed. On the ridge of the roof a fretted angelus tower with a square plan has been erected. In the tower above the chapter hall a bell by A. Petit, 1755, diameter 29 cm.

Above the entrance an ashlar commemorative stone has been placed commemorating the establishment of this section under Johannes Zwijssen. Internally the floor level is slightly lower than that of the wing from 1867. The floors of the wide corridor are tiled and the ceilings have simple stucco moulding. On the north side, entrance on the ground floor, is the chapter hall or private chapel. This is a small chapel on a rectangular plan with sober detailing. The chapel has three bays and is covered with polychrome cross-ribbed vaults with depressed arches on semicircular corbels. Mural arches have also been used. Sober light nave with per bay on each side a pointed arch window. The chapel has a wooden floor and a man-height wooden wainscoting with benches. On the straight end wall on the northern side a large painting by the painter Pieter Thijssen from circa 1675 is fixed. Above the vault of the chapter hall is a small, low meeting room which is accessible via a small staircase on the upper floor. The abbey church is accessible from the cloister building both via the ground floor and via the upper floor. Via the upper floor one can thus reach the gallery and the gallery of the church.

Valuation

The abbey complex is of general importance. It has cultural-historical values as a particular expression of the explosive growth of Catholic cloister life after the restoration of the episcopal hierarchy in 1853 and as part of the abbey. The abbey complex has architectural-historical significance because of the neoclassical and neogothic building style and because of the high architectural quality. Moreover, in connection with the other complex components, it has architectural-historical value as a particular expression of the search for a typology for the cloister building in general. In particular, the transition from this more townhouse-like cloister building to the more conventional cloister typology is of importance. It has ensemble values with the other complex components. It is of importance because of its recognizable character and because of its typological and functional rarity. It has situational value because of its location in the park.