In the serene heart of Begijnhofpark in Kortrijk, Belgium, lies Abby. Located on a site with over two millennia of layered history, Abby is both a cultural sanctuary and a dynamic space for reflection, creativity, and dialogue. While its roots trace back to a Roman settlement and a Cistercian abbey disrupted by the Iconoclasm, today it is an institution where the past meets the present through art, heritage, and ceramics.
The foundations of Abby’s building date back to the late sixteenth century, when a new Cistercian abbey was constructed within the city walls of Kortrijk after the original monastic complex on the Groeninge plain was abandoned during the Iconoclasm. This new abbey thrived for over two centuries, until 1797, when the French revolutionary regime expelled the nuns and repurposed ecclesiastical properties. In the following decades, portions of the abbey were demolished to make way for the convent of the Poor Clares, known locally as the Arme Klaren.
These cloistered women inhabited the site from 1845 until 1978, continuing traditions of prayer, contemplation, and labor, most famously, the baking of communion wafers. After their departure, the building entered a new chapter. Restoration efforts in the 1980s and 1990s paved the way for a cultural reawakening. By 1993, the former abbey was gradually transformed into a museum space, welcoming the city’s growing collection of visual and applied arts.
Today, Abby houses one of the most significant ceramic collections in Flanders, alongside masterpieces by old masters and a remarkable body of work by Kortrijk-based animal and landscape painters. The institution also cares for an eclectic mix of interior objects, archaeological finds, and items of folk art. Rather than presenting these in a fixed display, Abby opts for a dynamic curatorial approach: objects from the collection are revealed through temporary exhibitions and in a biennially changing core presentation, the ReCollectie.
Among Abby’s key assets is the city’s extensive ceramic collection, comprising over 35,000 registered objects. This assemblage spans a wide spectrum of ceramic typologies, ranging from archaeological fragments and vernacular wares to elite tableware and decorative faience.
Delftware is also richly represented within this scope, encompassing everything from ornate butter dishes, decorative plaques, figural animals, and biblical tiles to colorful chargers, refined vases, and even curious hybrids such as knife handles and tobacco jars, illustrating both the artistic diversity and technical ingenuity of this iconic Dutch tradition.
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