Herkenrode Abbey

In 2022, the Flemish government allocated €5 million in recovery funds for the development and repurposing of Herkenrode Abbey in Hasselt. These resources are now being used, among other things, to resurrect the lost historic heart of the abbey as a contemporary work of art. The duo Gijs Van Vaerenbergh will redesign the once beautiful abbey church, the nuns' quarters and the corridors as a full scale artistic, spatial installation in Corten steel.

Visit Flanders (owner of the abbey site), Herita National Trust for Flanders (leaseholder of Herkenrode), the City of Hasselt and artists Arnout Van Vaerenbergh and Pieterjan Gijs (Gijs Van Vaerenbergh) presented their ambitious plans today by means of a 1:50 3D model. “With the unveiling of the design for this beautiful work of art in the historic heart of the abbey, we are taking another important step towards the future of Herkenrode,” says the Flemish minister of tourism Zuhal Demir. "With the financial support of Visit Flanders, we are putting the abbey on the map as a place of nature, culture and heritage." 

The artwork will be titled Clausura - model for an abbey. Local residents will probably come to refer to it as the big brother of the 'see-through church' in Borgloon (another artwork by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, officially titled Reading between the lines). The new installation bears the signature of the makers. “We will spatially return the silhouettes of the historic complex to their original locations using a mesh of thin steel pipes. The result is a three-dimensional line drawing that brings the scale, space and meaning of the missing buildings back to the site,” explains artist Arnout Van Vaerenbergh. “Distinctive components, such as structural interior vaults, columns, doors and window openings are included. The final result will appear abstract, like a wireframe, but it will also contain enough recognizable details to stimulate the visitor's imagination.”

Herita, the National Trust for Flanders, invited Studio Gijs Van Vaerenbergh to create the design. “In 1826, the abbey church of Herkenrode went up in flames,” said general manager Matthias Francken. “Today, only the chapel and some ruins remain of the central building complex. What was once the center of the abbey seems remarkably empty today. However, the heart of Herkenrode beats as strong today as ever. Just look at the great local support for this heritage site and the number of volunteers who work here. This project makes that beating heart visible to everyone.”

The Mayor of Hasselt, Steven Vandeput welcomes the new tourist attraction for his city. “We promised that we would allow the site around Herkenrode Abbey to fully blossom. We were going to develop this beautiful piece of heritage into a pearl in the Limburg and Flemish cultural-historical crown. This new project fits perfectly with that ambition. We are very pleased that Hasselt in general and Herkenrode in particular are gaining a new attraction.”

A first part of the installation was carried out as a teaser in June 2024. The fragment measures 9x15x12m (lxwxh) with a spire that reaches 24m high. It serves as a test piece to further optimize the structure and the building process. It also allows visitors to get acquainted with the project.

In 2026 it will be exactly 200 years since the original church was destroyed by fire. The partners aim to resurrect the historic heart of Herkenrode by that year. The work of art will be connected to the heavily dilapidated nuns' quarters, the oldest half-timbered construction in Flanders. In this way the ruins are also propped up and incorporated into the whole. The connection is being further investigated based on Herita's inventory and maintenance work.

Visit Flanders, Herita and the City of Hasselt culminate in this project, 20 years of careful repurposing in collaboration with the Nature and Forest Agency and the Flanders Heritage Agency. They also rely on the legacy of the Sisters of the Holy Sepulchre, who maintained a living religious community between 1972 and 2023, and on the strong local support for the site. The installation of Clausura creates an impressive beacon for tourist visits from home and abroad. Herkenrode thus becomes a domain with international appeal, where heritage, culture and nature can be experienced together.