Inside the monks' refectory, a photo from Brabant Wallon, Wallonia

Photographer's Note

慥illers-la-Ville - Inside the monks' refectory�

Continuation of my previous photo about Villers Abbey.

My main photo shows the interior of the ruined monks' refectory.
You cannot enter this room. The photo was taken through a window.
Actually all windows in these ruins were open :)

Brief overview of the history (for those who missed the previous note), from https://villers.be/en

In 1146, a small group of 17 monks from Clairvaux Abbey, France founded a new abbey at Villers, Belgium.
A new building project began in 1197. The abbey became Gothic and took more than 100 years to build.
During this very wealthy period, the almost 400 monks in the community owned almost 10.000 hectares of land, stretching as far as Antwerp.
Villers Abbey covered more than 36 hectares.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the monks had to leave their abbey repeatedly because of invasions.
The 18th century was the abbey抯 second golden age. The medieval buildings were reconstructed in Neoclassical style.
The Abbot抯 Palace and its gardens were built.

But the French Revolution chased the monks away. The Abbey was sacked and pillaged in 1794 and then sold to a builders� merchant, who dismantled it piece by piece.
Vegetation and rain did the rest... The Abbey fell into ruins.

In 1972, the ruins were classified as a historic site and monument.
In 1992, the Abbey was classified as part of Wallonia抯 exceptional heritage. The whole estate was preserved: its 50.000 m2 of walls preserved above ground and its 5.000 m2 of Romanesque and Gothic vaults make it one of the biggest archaeological sites in Belgium.

ricardomattos, aliabazari, COSTANTINO, pajaran, jemaflor, holmertz, Fis2, pierrefonds, ktanska, jean113, Royaldevon, adramad has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ricardomattos (17460) 2022-04-28 17:36

Ol� Paul,

Do jeito que est� eu penso que ela seria facilmente reconstru韉a. Apesar da a玢o do tempo os arcos das janelas e portas ainda est鉶 intactos. Bel韘sima foto meu amigo.

Parab閚s

Ricardo

aliabazari (22347) 2022-04-28 20:45

Hello Paul
Another view of the interior of the monastery. Clarity and lighting done well. Beautiful shot. thank you

COSTANTINO (116674) 2022-04-28 21:50

Hello my dearest friend and have a nice day
and a happy evening!!!!
an interior ...not exactly interior now.....
because this is the interior
of the ruined monks refectoryI like the shadows playing with
the lights
regards
Costantino

pajaran (116065) 2022-04-28 22:03

Pozdrav.

Lep pogled, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Lepa stara arhitektura, dobro pokazana sa lepim bojama, kontrastom i perspektivom.
Dobar rad sa lepim fotografijama u radionici.
Lepa rusevina.

Zelim vam sve najbolje.
Paja

jemaflor (147300) 2022-04-28 23:23

Salut Paul,
Interessantes ruines avec ces murs en 閝uilibre, bien cadr� avec effet de profondeur, joli avec cette lumi鑢e bien captur閑, bons contrastes avec ces ombres, merci du partage.

holmertz (102846) 2022-04-29 0:45

Hello Paul,
Three interesting photos of different characters. The diagonals and the line of columns make the main photo the most attractive. It allows us to imagine what impression this room may have created when it was full of monks. The "tunnel" has a nice perspective, and in the other WS I am a bit fascinated by the dry twigs still clinging to the upper part of the wall. The colours are good in all photos and you handled the light well.
Best regards,
Gert

Fis2 (170945) 2022-04-29 1:16

Witaj Paul!
Another nice set of photos.
I love such places.
Good framing, colors and light.
Very nice presentation.
Well done.
Warm regards.
Krzysztof

lousat (139362) 2022-04-29 3:39

Hi Paul. The roof is gone but the walls are still there, showing in a perfect way the original architechture,perfect capture of refectory, but the 2 WS are very interesting too,especially the perspective of rooms half-underground,well done! Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano

pierrefonds (114608) 2022-04-29 5:20

Bonjour Paul,

L'architecture est impressionnante. La prise de vue permet de voir les d閠ails de l'ancien r閒ectoire de l'abbaye de Villers. La lumi鑢e rehausse les couleurs de l'image. Bonne journ閑.

Pierre

Silvio1953 (221781) 2022-04-29 7:18

Ciao Paul, great view of fascinating ruined refectory, excellent perspective, splendid light and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, have a good week end ciao Silvio

mkamionka (74637) 2022-04-29 9:03

Hi Paul,
Nice composition, it looks like you start to enjoy the ruined abbeys :)
Yes, I wonder why do they leave all the windows open, ha ha
Nice weather day, the light getting into the scene added some more geometry. The fact that the entering of this place was not possible allowed you to capture it without disturbing crowds.
Very well selected angle,
Exellent capture,
M

Tue (92548) 2022-04-29 10:37

Hallo Paul,
Prachtige foto van de binnenkant van deze oud ru飊es. De lege ramen worden mooi opgevuld door de lichtblauwe lucht en de vormen van de oude ramen en muren zijn heel mooi, vooral ook dankzij het aantrekkelijke schaduwspel.
Lars

ktanska (44838) 2022-04-30 0:38

Hi Paul,
Inside view of a ruined abbey is something special. Columns and window openings are interesting features. Shadows create nice contrasts.
Kari

jean113 (27899) 2022-05-02 4:59

Hello Paul, three shots that show some of the details of the abbey.
A case of � if only walls could talk�, what would they tell us about this site抯 history?
You had a clear, fine bright day that has brought out the colours of the stone.
Lovely details.
Kind regards, Jean.

Royaldevon (85932) 2022-05-02 7:53

Hello Paul,

Monasteries generally seem to have had a tough time. The monks were educated, they learned lots of different skills, which eventually made them rich and created a terrific temptation for waring factions!

This would have been a very beautiful building!
You chose a good point from which to take your photograph, placing the tall pillar almost on the thirds line, excellent details of walls and windows and with the sunlight and shadows adding another, very special element!
Your w/s add further impressions of this once wealthy monastery but this is definitely the best.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

jmdias (115342) 2022-05-02 11:52

paul

it is an imposing interior, even ruined. marvelous arches, windows and columns. you got a marvelous image showing well the original beauty of the gothic building. nice explanatory note.

take care

jorge

adramad (73030) 2022-05-10 10:29

Hi Paul, how are you? Me back from my trip to Tarragona.
Impressive these photos that you are showing of this abbey in ruins, it must have been wonderful, here we see the great refectory, with large and beautiful windows, which would give a lot of light to its interior. Splendid also the photos of the WS.
A magnificent range of colors, which gives an attractive color scheme.
Very good management of luminosity, as well as the sharpness of the image.
A good job, with which we enjoy. I love it.
Have a great day.
Very best regards.
Luis.