Rolduc Abbey

Kerkrade, Netherlands

Rolduc is the name of a medieval abbey in Kerkrade, which is now a Roman Catholic seminary and an affiliated conferencing center. In 1104, a young priest by the name of Ailbertus of Antoing founded an Augustinian abbey in the Land of Rode, near the river Wurm. The abbey was called Kloosterrade, which later became 's-Hertogenrade, after the ducal castle that was built across the Wurm. Ailbertus died in 1111 and his bones were later interred in the crypt. In 1136 the land of Rode, including the abbey, fell into the hands of the Duchy of Limburg. Kloosterrade was considered to be their family church. Several dukes of Limburg are buried at Rolduc, such as Walram III, whose cenotaph can be found in the nave of the church. During the 12th century and 13th century the abbey flourished. Several other communities were founded by Kloosterrade. In 1250 the abbey owned more than 3,000 hectares of land.

During the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries times were harder for the abbey in both spiritual and material terms. The buildings were heavily damaged during the Eighty Years War. Materialistically, the abbey began to prosper again in the late 17th century when revenue was generated from the exploitation of coal mines. In around 1775, Rolduc employed 350 mineworkers.

The abbey was dissolved by the French in 1796 and the buildings stood empty for 35 years. In 1815, when the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed (see Vienna Congress), the border was drawn through the ancient land of Rode, separating the abbey from the castle. The eastern part (including the castle) became Prussian Herzogenrath and the western part (including the abbey) became part of the Dutch municipality of Kerkrade.

In the 19th century Rolduc became a famous boarding school run by Jesuits, and a seminary of the Diocese of Roermond. Many influential Dutch Roman Catholics were educated at Rolduc.

The 12th century abbey church is an example of Mosan art. The crypt and the choir and chancel above have a cloverleaf pattern. The interior of both the church and the crypt contains richly carved capitals. Remarkable is the fact that the columns in the crypt all have a different design. In 1853, the young architect Pierre Cuypers was commissioned to restore the crypt and to reinstate as much as possible the original Romanesque fabric.

The cloisters are largely 18th century. The abbey has a richly decorated Rococo library with an important collection of books. During the Middle Ages, the Rolduc library was one of the most famous libraries in the Meuse region. The history of the abbey was recorded in the so-called Annales Rodenses, a chronicle about the years between 1104-1157.

The interior painting above the altar is by the Nazarene movement painter Matthias Goebbels.

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Details

Founded: 1104
Category: Religious sites in Netherlands

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Marla Muckosky (3 months ago)
Came for dinner this evening with friends. The meal was very good, unfortunately the owner would not honour a €150 gift certificate that we bought under the previous owner. The name of the business hasn’t changed and the gift certificate had no expiration date. When you buy a business (and keep the same name) you take on all assets and liabilities of said business. Although we spent almost €200, she would not give us a discount or even let us use part of our credit. There is no legal reason to not honour the gift certificate- nothing advertised that previous gift certificates cannot be used. This is terrible business practice and service. We will not be back and will tell our friends of our bad experience.
Ralph Weinmann (3 months ago)
It’s a hotel in an old monastery, that is special and makes it a special location. However, I assume it is also a disadvantage as bigger renovation might be difficult. so the rooms and the place seems stuck many years ago, e.g. with shared bathrooms on the corridor with old flat washer toilets. During my stay the shower had a very bad small, i assume a missing or broken siphon - not a nice experience. Also the room appear to me more like a youth hostel than a hotel. If you know what to expect, fine. Staff is nice (not much contact actually) and you can walk from here to the Center of Kerkrade in just a few minutes.
Elizabeth Mariane (5 months ago)
I was here for a business meeting, but we didn’t stay overnight, therefore i can’t honestly review the hotelrooms in particular. It is a nice location, with friendly staff. we were at the brewery of the hotel where you can enjoy a beer made at the brewery itself. You’re surrounded by lots of nature. The buildings itself are beautiful aswell, i could see this to be a much sought after wedding location.
Zenna Molenschot (5 months ago)
Very loud music coming from the hotel bar until 3am. We could clearly hear it in our room which was 2 floors away. Aside from that, the hotel was great. Beautiful place, but hard to reach by bus/train.
Jevan Furmanski (7 months ago)
I visited Rolduc for a work conference. For this it is quite nice, with a wonderful atmosphere of the original abbey and grounds and nature. The staff helped make the meeting work. However, the rooms are quite limited, meaning the beds are likely to be uncomfortable if you are sensitive to such. The prices reflect this, so perhaps it is fair. But. I and about 10 others returned late and the “24 hour” staff was nowhere to be found, and were locked out in the middle of nowhere for some time. We got it sorted out, but not with any assistance from the staff, which never showed up. I am very unhappy about getting locked out. This should never happen.
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