Het verhaal van het devies
De abdij van Grimbergen is drie keer tot de grond toe afgebrand en telkens sterker uit de strijd gekomen, wat resulteerde in het devies "ardet nec consumitur", wat betekent "verbrand maar niet vernield".
Three legendary words that will never be forgotten in the city of Grimbergen: ardet nec consumitur.
This motto of the abbey means "burned, but not destroyed" (but may also have other translations).
A reminder of the dramatic history of Grimbergen Abbey. A history that goes back to the Middle Ages, when Norbert of Xanten took the name Norbertus and founded the Premonstratensian order.
In 1128 the lords of Grimbergen asked him to build an abbey and he granted their wish.
In 1142 the lords of Grimbergen revolted against the Duke of Brabant. This was the beginning of the War of Grimbergen.
The abbey was burned to the ground for the first time and completely destroyed. The ambitious fathers rebuilt them stone by stone.
After the first reconstruction, the abbey flourished, just like the hops in the fields around the city.
But in 1566, during the Wars of Religion, it was destroyed for the second time. The fathers were forced to leave their abbey.
They fled to Brussels where they sought shelter until peace returned to Grimbergen.
In 1629 the fathers put the finishing touches to their new abbey. We can vividly imagine the revelry when the master brewer returned to town.
From that moment on, they included the phoenix as a symbol of rebirth in their coat of arms,
next to the motto:
ARDET NEC CONSUMITUR.
