Cycle Route Grünroute

Herkenrode Abbey (Limburgish: Abdij van Herkenrode) was monastery of Cistercian nuns located in Kuringen , part of the municipality of Hasselt , which lies in the province of Limburg, Belgium.

Since 1972 some of the surviving buildings have served as the home of a community of the Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre, who have since built a new retreat center and church on the site.

In 1974 the buildings and the surrounding estate were designated and since then protected as a national historical monument and landscape.

The abbey was founded in or about 1182 by Count Gerard of Loon, who sold a part of his lands to raise funds for his participation in the Crusades, and used some of the proceeds to endow a Cistercian monastery for nuns.

The French Revolutionary Army invaded the region in 1795 and annexed it to France. During a policy of anti-Catholic measures which were in effect from 1795-1799, they seized the abbey and expelled the nuns, as a result of which the monastic community was permanently dispersed. The abbey was sold to Claes and Libotton, after which the buildings gradually fell into disrepair. In 1826 a fire destroyed much of the church, which had been in use as a factory, after the stained glass windows had been replaced by clear glass. In 1844 the remaining ruins were demolished, including the mausoleum of the Counts of Loon. Many artworks from the church have survived and are kept in museums.

The castle of Leut (also: Castle Vilain XIIII) is a castle in the Belgian Limburg town of Leut, located in a park-like forest near the Maas.