Jezuietengrot / Jesuit Caves

pictures courtesy of the author of the 
 website Underground Exploitation, not available anymore

The Jezuiëtenberg (Jesuits Mountain) is a marl-stone quarry in the southern-most part of the Netherlands, near the city of Maastricht. It was exploited between 1704 and 1880.

Traditionally Maastricht housed a school for Jesuit priests. Its students would enjoy their free afternoon on Wednesdays by retreating into the cave, to find silence and relaxation, as one would suppose.

These weekly trips toke place from 1860 until 1960, and a hundred year of Wednesday afternoons in the cave somehow has resulted in all kinds of creative activity.

The walls have been decorated with hundreds of pictures in black-and-white and in colour, and the cave was provided with all kinds of reliefs and sculptures, themes ranging from the Alhambra (picture above) to Buddha and to "Egyptian" representations.

In  1967 the Jesuit school left Maastricht. In 1966 the quarry got an monumental status and from 1968 on it has been cared for by a foundation.

The site can be visited by the public.

Documentation

* Wikipedia with an overview of the history of the caves
* Website with information for visitors

Video
* video by Harry Kerckhoffs (YouTube, 2015, 10'43")

first published February 2009, last revised April 2023 

Jezuiëtenberg

Maastricht, Netherlands
can be visited by the public 
(see this website for opening hours)