O - Orval Abbey, Belgium

Sometimes you visit a site that you had no idea existed and are pretty sure even if you did you would not be interested.  How wrong I was.  Orval Abbey was quite interesting and so I am sharing lots of photos of ruins with you.

In 1070, Benedictine monks from Italy arrived to build a church.  In 1132 Orval became a Cistercian Monastery, with monks sent by St. Bernard.  While the monastery is rebuilt several times over the centuries, in 1793, troops of the French Revolution raze the construction to the ground.  It isn't until 1926 that the Cistercian-Trappist monks come back to the site to rebuild the present monastery.

 The Abbey today

 Visiting the ruins

 The Dormitory

 The Chapter Room

A model of the site

Do you enjoy touring ruins?  Which ones have you visited or would you like to visit?  Rome, Greece, Egypt, Petra?

Bonus:  Daylily 'Oriental Ruby'