The site The
Keizersberg (the 'Emperor's mountain') is a hill situated close to the point where the
Voer river flows into the
Dijle river north of Leuven. Emperor
Arnulf of Carinthia had a fortification built here following the 891
Battle of Leuven, in which
East Francia defeated the
Vikings. When Leuven became the first capital of the
Duchy of Brabant, the
Duke of Brabant Henry I had in 1230 a castle built on the Keizersberg outside the city walls to demonstrate the dukes' power. In the early 16th century, when the later
Emperor Charles V was still a child he regularly stayed at the castle on the Keizersberg with his sisters. The future Pope
Adrian VI gave him instructions there. A small zoo was set up for the children, featuring at least a wild cow, a bear and two camels. While Charles did not regularly visit Leuven after being crowned as emperor, he provided the funds to renovate and embellish the castle. As a result, the site came to be known as the Castrum Caesaris – the emperor's castle. The castle, which had fallen into ruins, was demolished in 1782 by order of the Austrian
Emperor Joseph II, the then ruler over the
Austrian Netherlands. On the east side of the hill the
Knights Templars had built a
commandery and a chapel in 1187. Upon the Templars' dissolution in 1312 their buildings were taken over by the
Knights Hospitallers. In 1626, they also left. The chapel which had been turned into a church remained in use until 1799, first by Irish Jesuits and later by Dominicans. In 1798 the French occupiers expropriated and sold the commandery and the church and larger buildings were demolished. under the first abbot, Dom Robertus de Kerchove. By 1899 fourteen monks had moved into the north wing of the new abbey, which was officially named Abbatia Reginae Coeli de Castro Lovaniensi. Dom Bruno (
Henri Reynders), famous for hiding many Jewish children from the
Nazis during
World War II, was a monk of Mont César from 1922 until 1968. A fellow monk at the abbey provided him with several skillfully forged identification cards. The abbey again suffered damage in
World War II with the bombing of the buildings during
air raids on Leuven in 1944, which among other things destroyed the last remains of the older buildings from the time of the Hospitallers, and the monastery was temporarily uninhabitable. By 1948 it was sufficiently restored to be able to set up a small community at
Wavreumont in
Stavelot, which was formally established as St. Remaclus' Priory on 21 June 1952.
Subiaco Congregation In 1968 the
Catholic University of Leuven became an institution using only Dutch as the language of instruction. Around this time it was decided that the abbey should become a Flemish institution and on 10 June 1968 the abbey was transferred to the Flemish Province of the
Subiaco Congregation. The abbot and prior resigned in the same year, and a temporary administrator was appointed. In 1969 part of the renovated abbey was converted for use as student accommodation, and is still used for that purpose. As the monastic community continued to dwindle, the abbey was leased to Labora, an organisation that is revitalising the site. Parts of the abbey are being systematically renovated for commercial use. ==Abbots==