Soleilmont Abbey

Soleilmont Abbey is a monastery of Trappistine nuns hidden in the woods of the Fleurus commune, near Gilly and not far from Charleroi in the Belgian region of Hainaut. Tucked away from the busier roads that connect Charleroi to Brussels, the abbey occupies a quiet forested plot that has sheltered a religious community, in one form or another, for close to a thousand years.

How old is Soleilmont Abbey?

According to tradition, the monastery was founded in the 11th century, which would make it one of the older religious foundations in this part of Belgium. Its documented history becomes clearer in 1237, the year the community adopted the Cistercian rule — the same reform movement that shaped countless European monasteries known for austere architecture, manual labour, and a life centred on prayer and self-sufficiency.

Did the community survive the French Revolution?

Not without interruption. Like most religious houses across the Southern Netherlands, Soleilmont was caught up in the upheaval that followed the French Revolution, and the nuns were expelled from the site in 1796. The buildings and the community's continuity were broken for several years. It was only in 1802 that the sisters managed to re-establish themselves at Soleilmont, restarting monastic life on the same forested grounds after the Revolutionary storm had passed.

What religious order lives there today?

The community's affiliation changed more than once over the following century. In 1837 it became Bernardine, following the reformed branch of the Cistercian tradition associated with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. The final and lasting shift came in 1919, when the nuns became Trappist — part of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance, known worldwide for silence, simplicity, and a rhythm of life built around communal prayer. Today the abbey is home to a community of Trappistine nuns, the female branch of the Trappist order, continuing a monastic tradition that stretches back centuries despite the interruptions along the way.

Where exactly is the abbey located?

Soleilmont Abbey sits within the commune of Fleurus, close to the town of Gilly, in the immediate vicinity of Charleroi — one of Wallonia's larger urban centres. Despite that proximity to a sizeable city, the abbey itself is set within forest, which has historically given the community the seclusion typical of monastic life. The coordinates place it at roughly 50.445° N, 4.505° E, in the wooded belt south of Charleroi.

Why visit or learn about Soleilmont Abbey?

For travellers exploring the Charleroi area, Soleilmont Abbey offers a glimpse into a very different rhythm of life than the industrial and post-industrial landscape the region is often associated with. Nearly a millennium of monastic presence — with its Cistercian roots, its brush with revolutionary suppression, and its eventual Trappist identity — makes the site a point of quiet historical continuity in a part of Belgium shaped by coal, steel, and rapid change. Visitors interested in religious architecture, monastic history, or simply a peaceful forest setting not far from Charleroi will find Soleilmont a low-key but historically layered destination, standing as one of the enduring markers of Belgium's long Cistercian tradition.