Mariënlof - From monastery to abbey

Around 1438, Maria van Colen, with the help of burgrave Jan van Gutschoven, founded a monastery of the crusaders in Kerniel. By a papal bull of 1486, the parish of Kerniel was incorporated into the monastery Colen and served by one of the crusaders. A beautiful church path still connects the church of Kerniel with the abbey. In 1822, the buildings and the lands of Colen were sold to the last remaining sister of the Cistercian abbey of Woutersbrakel. For this historical reason, the monastery Colen officially received the title of abbey since 1990, as Mariënlof is the continuation of the abbey of Woutersbrakel. The abbey still has a beautiful walled garden, which is unfortunately not accessible to the public.