It became an important spiritual centre, famous for its veneration of the Virgin Mary and the 'Book of Mariënlof', an influential devotional book.
During the French Revolution, the abbey was disbanded, but the complex was preserved. The abbey combines religious heritage, history and nature.
Today, it’s privately owned and cannot be visited.
Mariënlof Abbey, also known as Colen Abbey, was founded by Cistercian nuns in Kerniel in 1438.