Drongen

Drongen
Drongen
Deelgemeente
	View on Drongen, with the "Oude Abdij" (Old Abbey), the tower of the Church of Saint Gerulph, and the Pontbrug bridge over an arm of the Leie
	Drongen within Ghent
	Drongen Drongen within Belgium
	Coordinates: 51°3′1″N 3°39′46″E / 51.05028°N 3.66278°E
Country	Belgium
Province	East Flanders
Municipality	Ghent
Area
• Total	27.43 km2 (10.59 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2007)
• Total	12,218
• Density	445/km2 (1,150/sq mi)
Postal code	9031

Drongen (French: Tronchiennes) is a district within the city of Ghent (Arrondissement of Ghent).

Drongen is divided into three parishes: Drongen, Luchteren and Baarle.

Monastery

Drongen is known for its early medieval monastery, Drongen Abbey, founded in the 7th century by the monk Amandus, the Missionary of the Leie and Schelde. Destroyed by the Normans in 853, the monastery was rebuilt by the counts of Flanders. The monastery was the victim of the religious wars following the Reformation, and in 1578 it was once again destroyed by Calvinists.

In 1638, the abbey church was rebuilt and between 1638 and 1698 the monastery was restored. After a fire in 1727, the church tower was restored once again in 1734, with a distinctive appearance. In 1797, the French occupied and sold the abbey. In 1804, Lieven Bauwens used the monastery as a textile plant. The current monastery and abbey church date from 1859 and remain in use as a spiritual centre run by the Society of Jesus dedicated to the teachings of Ignatius of Loyola.