Abbey of Our Lady, Middelburg Onze Lieve Vrouwe Abdij

On the northeast side of the inner ring stands Onze Lieve Vrouwe Abdij, the Abbey of Our Lady. In 1150 White Canons of the Norbertine order (named after St Norbert of Xanten, who founded the order at Prémontré in France: hence the alternative name Premonstratensian) established themselves in the Carolingian stronghold of Middelburg. In the 16th century the abbey consisted of a picturesque and many-towered complex of buildings laid out round a cloister, including the canons' lodgings, to which were later added a refectory and chapterhouse (now the Provincial Library), a second courtyard, two churches and a tower.When William the Silent recovered Middelburg from the Spaniards in 1574 the abbey was secularized and became the seat of the provincial administration, the Admiralty and the Mint. Even a cannon foundry was established within the precincts. Only the churches retained their original function, though now for the Reformed faith. Many parts of the complex have two names, reflecting their dual use: the White Tower became the Munttoren (Mint Tower), the Abdijplein the Muntplein, the Refectory the Statenzaal (Hall of the States). The buildings were almost completely destroyed in the 1940 bombing but were rebuilt after the war in the same style. They now house the Zeeland provincial government, the Roosevelt Study Center (20th century American history) and the Zeeland Mint.