St Peter's Abbey

St Peter's Abbey is marked by a broad, brick-walled terrace that overlooks the Leie river from a high, grassy ridge. Founded in the seventh century by Saint Amand, it became the wealthiest monastery in the region, serving as a political anchor for the Counts of Flanders. In fifteen sixty-six, iconoclasts stormed the church, stripping the interior of its gold and stone sculptures. The monks buried their most precious relics in the garden to save them, leaving the abbey emptied of its former splendor.