Last updated: 23 June 2026
Saint Sixtus Abbey attaches great importance to the protection of your personal data and to your privacy. In this statement we explain which data we process through this website (sintsixtus.be), why we do so and what rights you have. We do this in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Belgian legislation on electronic communications.
1. Who is responsible for your data?
The data controller is:
Saint Sixtus Abbey (Abbey of Westvleteren)
Donkerstraat 12
8640 Westvleteren
Belgium
Monastery: +32 (0)57 40 03 76
Guesthouse: +32 (0)57 40 19 70 – gastenhuis@sintsixtus.be
Claustrum: claustrum@sintsixtus.be
For any questions about this statement or about the processing of your personal data you can get in touch at gastenhuis@sintsixtus.be.
2. Which personal data do we process?
This website is first and foremost an informative website. You can consult our pages freely without leaving your details. This website has no contact form, no newsletter, no customer account and no web shop.
Through this website we collect no sensitive data and carry out no profiling or automated decision-making. We collect only the necessary technical data that your browser sends automatically with every visit (such as your IP address). These are briefly processed by our web server for the proper and secure operation of the website.
To keep track of visitor numbers we use GoatCounter. A privacy-friendly tool that places no cookies and stores no IP addresses or personal data. Only anonymised, aggregated statistics are kept, which is why a cookie notice is not required.
3. Why and on what basis do we process these data?
| Purpose | Legal basis (art. 6 GDPR) |
|---|---|
| Safe and correct operation and security of the website | Legitimate interest (art. 6.1.f) |
| Compliance with legal obligations | Legal obligation (art. 6.1.c) |
4. How long do we keep your data?
We do not keep your data longer than is necessary for the purposes set out above:
E-mail and booking correspondence: for as long as is needed to deal with your request or stay, and for a reasonable period thereafter (as a guide: up to 1 year), unless a longer statutory retention period applies.
Technical server and security data: generally a short period (as a guide: a few days to months).
5. With whom do we share your data?
We never sell your data and do not pass them on to third parties for commercial purposes. We do call on a few service providers who process data on our behalf (processors), solely for the operation of this website and our communications:
Our hosting provider (EasyHost), for hosting the website.
Providers of embedded third-party content (see point 6: Vimeo and OpenStreetMap).
In addition, we may share data where we are legally obliged to do so (for example at the request of a competent authority).
Transfer outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
When you view a page on which a Vimeo video is embedded, your IP address is technically passed to Vimeo, a company established in the United States. Such transfers take place under the appropriate safeguards provided for by the GDPR (such as the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and/or standard contractual clauses). The OpenStreetMap map is served from within the EEA.
6. Cookies and similar technologies
Does this website place cookies?
This website places no cookies of its own and uses no analytics, statistics or marketing technology (such as Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel and the like). That is why no cookie banner appears on this website: no non-essential cookies are placed for which your consent would be required.
Embedded third-party content
On a few pages we show content that is loaded from an external service. That external service may thereby receive data (such as your IP address) and in certain cases place technical cookies:
| Service | Where | What | Cookies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vimeo (video) | Home page and the page Work | Playing video. We load Vimeo in the privacy mode Do Not Track (dnt=1), so that Vimeo places no tracking or analytics cookies. | Possibly only technically necessary security cookies (bv. __cf_bm, _cfuvid from Cloudflare) so that the service can operate securely. |
| OpenStreetMap (map) | Page Contact | Showing a map with the location of the abbey. | No cookies. |
These external services have their own privacy policies:
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/privacy
OpenStreetMap: https://osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy
Managing cookies
You can always manage or delete cookies yourself through your browser settings. You can also set your browser to refuse third-party cookies. You will find more information in your browser’s help function.
7. How do we secure your data?
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against loss, misuse and unauthorised access. The website is secured with an encrypted connection (HTTPS).
8. Your rights
Under the GDPR you have the following rights in respect of your personal data:
Right of access to the data we process about you;
Right to rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data;
Right to erasure (the ‘right to be forgotten’);
Right to restriction of processing;
Right to object to the processing;
Right to data portability of your data;
Right to withdraw your consent, where the processing is based on consent.
You can exercise these rights by contacting us at gastenhuis@sintsixtus.be. We may ask you to confirm your identity before we act on your request.
9. Lodging a complaint
Do you believe that we are not processing your personal data correctly? Please do get in touch with us first. You also always have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority:
Data Protection Authority (GBA)
Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussels
+32 (0)2 274 48 00 — contact@apd-gba.be
https://www.gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit.be
10. Changes to this statement
We may amend this privacy and cookie statement from time to time, for example when the website or the legislation changes. The most recent version is always available on this page, with the date of the last amendment shown at the top.