10 Inspiring Forgotten Ruins Reclaimed By Nature

Forgotten Ruin In Belgium: Villers Abbey

This Cistercian abbey in the Wallonia province dates all the way back to the 12th century, when it began its life as a home for 17 monks of the order.

The abbey has been rebuilt numerous times since then, first in a Romanesque style, then the Gothic, and finally in the Neo-classical style.

But it has also suffered a turbulent past. It’s been invaded multiple times over the centuries and was eventually wrecked and looted during the French Revolution. Following that period, the abbey was abandoned and fell into further disrepair.

Beaten by rain and covered by vegetation, it became the perfect domain for Romantic poets and artists. Luckily, at the end of the 19th-century, locals finally began restoring and preserving the forgotten ruin.

Today nature shares the abbey with tourists, who usually take in its magnificent ruins and revel in the well-kept grounds, now home to a medicinal herb garden.