Salve Mater - Bierbeek, Belgium |
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Queen Elisabeth of Belgium opened the Salve Mater psychiatric center for women in 1927. The center was set up by the ‘Sisters of Mercy' on the lands owned by the counts of Spoelbergh.
Until 1997, the main building held the psychiatric clinic's administrative offices and the sisters' convent. The last patients, those of the Saint-Paulus pavillion, left salve Mater in 2007.
The surrounding parc, set up as an English scenic garden, was protected by the Administration of Monuments and Landscapes due to its rich collection of trees and plants, but has been neglected for quite some years since.