In 1134 Heinrich von
Spanheim, abbot of
Morimond Abbey, founded Villers-Bettnach Abbey on land given for the purpose by
Simon I, Duke of Lorraine; Heinrich himself was the first abbot, holding the position together with that at Morimond. The community flourished, and monks from Villers-Bettnach later settled a number of daughter houses:
Viktring Abbey in
Carinthia (1142);
Eusserthal Abbey in the
Palatinate (1148);
Wörschweiler Abbey in
Wörschweiler, now a part of
Homburg (1171);
Zagreb Abbey (1257 or 1274; but note that
Janauschek ascribes the foundation of Zagreb to
Topusko Abbey, and others to Viktring Abbey); and
Pontifroy Abbey in Metz (1323).
Cambron Abbey in Belgium is occasionally claimed as a daughter house of Villers-Bettnach, but this seems doubtful. Among other properties Villers-Bettnach owned a
grange with
salt pans in
Marsal and townhouses in Metz and
Sierck-les-Bains. In 1552 the monastery was laid waste. Between 1724 and 1729 a new church was built. The
French Revolution caused the dissolution of the monastery in 1790, and the abbey buildings and site were turned over to agricultural uses. Those buildings that survived were later acquired by the town of
Boulay-Moselle (Bolchen), which built a convalescent home there. The site is now looked after by the
Association des Amis des Sites de St-Hubert. == Buildings and site ==