The Adbijkerk was founded at the end of the tenth century by Count Ansfried and his wife Hilsondis. The abbey and its surrounding land had the status of an independent principality, separate from the Holy Roman Empire, and it was this which allowed the village to develop. Little of the original abbey remains, most of the architecture seen dates back to the 15th century, with some work by Cuypers in the 19th. Inside the abbey, the crypt makes for some macabre viewing.
