The story of Alden Biesen actually starts in… the Middle East. Or more precisely, in the Promised Land – in Acre, Palestine – in 1190.
The Teutonic Order chooses Mary, mother of Jesus, as their patron saint. The order wants to disseminate and defend the Christian faith and constructs a defensive wall of ‘Grand Commanderies’ across Europe. Each Commandery controls another series of commanderies. In our region, the Teutonic Order chooses Alden Biesen, which itself controls 12 other commanderies stretching from Diest to Cologne. The Grand Commandery grows like many abbeys at the time into a symbol of power and splendour.
