Railway

In 1855, Villers Abbey was disrupted by the installation of a railway  on a viaduct. The railway tracks were laid across the site without any consideration for its architectural or historical interest. It destroyed the perspective of the terraced gardens behind the abbey palace. 

However, the train offered travellers a romantic and picturesque view of the abbey. Its arrival greatly favoured the tourism development of the area and of the Cistercian monastery.