As we keep saying, Valkenburg is a gem of a place to visit. The small town itself is full of charm, historic buildings, a canal and many quaint features. Today we are going to go walking and explore the castle ruins and the caves which are located across from our hotel, but atop the hills. Many stairs to climb but we are keen. If there is time, we also want to visit the Shimano Experience Centre which showcases some of their bikes, components and inventions.
Looking at this photo, it feels like I am looking at a version of the film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Barry looks like he is about 3 feet tall beside this couple from the exhibit, Everyday People.
The caves of Valkenburg date back to the 11th century and they contain Marl stone which was used as a building stone in the construction of Valkenburg Castle. These caves stretch for a number of km. As a result of mining for Marl stone, there is an extensive labyrinth of old and rugged passageways, much of which is beneath the Castle Ruins. In times of siege, the secret passageways allowed the Knights and their footmen to escape the castle and attack the enemy from behind or secretly get supplies in to the castle. The temperature in the caves is a consistent 12 degrees C year round. During our guided tour of the Velvet Caves, we saw some impressive wall murals, inscriptions and strange sculptures in the stone walls. As well in the cave, there is a Chapel from the 18th century. During the Second World War and the German Occupation, the caves served as a hideout for locals and the American troops. In 1853 the railway came to Valkenburg which made it a popular destination for tourists. To make the caves attractive to tourists, it was decided to decorate them. The walls were smoothed out, blackened with charcoal and the drawing/murals were created by scratching the surface or deeper for the desired effect. The chapel was created for its use when the castle was in use and priests had to hide.
This is one of the extraordinary murals we saw in the Cave. It depicts a block cutter taking a break from his heavy work. Cutting blocks was done completely by hand. He is surrounded by his most important tools…hammer, chisel, saws, wedges and an oil lamp. The weight and size of the stone blocks required horses to pull them out of the cave. Bats hibernate in the caves overwinter and were so many sharing the space with the workers.
The display cases show the fossilized remains of various marine animals which lived here between 60 and 80 million years ago when Limburg was covered by a tropical sea.
Looking back to the mural showing a man chiseling the stone from the wall. It sounds like dangerous and backbreaking work. Their work was mostly done during the winter. After mid May, the blocks were hauled outside to use in the building of houses, churches and castles.
The Tour Guide spoke little English so the tour was primarily in Dutch, but he did try to give us information when he could. We were given a printout in English describing the highlights of areas of the cave and each mural. This was useful, except that we were in darkness, so we were constantly turning on the flashlight in our iPhones.
This mural depicts the ruler of Valkenburg in combat with the Count of Vendome. According to legend, the dispute was due to an inheritance and it was resolved in the traditional fashion of a duel. The red pigment in the mural was made from Madder roots. Due to overuse, this plant became extinct by 1900.
The drawing shows the tragic results of fratricide of brothers Walram and Reginald, both of whom were in love with Alexis of Cleaves. As a result of Alexis choosing to marry Walram, Reginald murdered his brother and Alexis on their wedding night.
The Hainisaurus relief was made after the discovery of the jaw of this giant marine reptile in the rock in Maastritch in 1770. When Maastritch fell to the French in 1794, the French army seized the jaw and took it to Paris. According to legend, the jaw was not seized, but purchased by the French Army for 600 bottles of red wines. This claim remains disputed by the Dutch.
In 1944 after the liberation of Valkenburg, some of the American soldiers stayed behind and visited the Velvet cave. The guide on that visit did silhouettes of these soldiers to commemorate their presence.
In Sept of 1944, the American army entered Valkenburg and over 6 days of heavy combat the inhabitants of Valkenburg (over 600) took refuge in the network of caves. The Americans were successful in liberating Valkenburg from the German occupation.
In 1794, South Limburg became part of the French Republic and this resulted in the Law that required all subjects to swear opposition to French Royalty. This aroused the fury of the Catholic Church. Priests who refused to take the oath were banned from being priests. Many were captured and imprisoned. Priests who wanted to remain practicing their faith were forced to work in secret and so the cave became their refuge. Services, baptisms etc were conducted here. The leader of the priests, Servatius Widdershoven, lived in the cave for 3 years. Spending the comparatively brief time we did on the tour, it is hard to imagine living 8n this cold, dark and damp place for so long. After the French period, the chapel was further improved over the years.
This mural depicts Servitius Widdershoven, the priest who remained in the cave for 3 years. It was fascinating to see the work the priests had done to create the elements of a church, carved out of,the stone walls. The altar, a confessional and a baptismal font are some of the things we saw.
A very sad part of the history of this cave deals with 2 young boys who lost their lives here. The guide is explaining what happened. In August 1993, two boys sneaked into the cave without permission. Their flashlight broke and they tried to find a way out without success. To emphasize the perilous situation they were in, the guide turned off his lamp and the darkness was profound. Both boys perished from a combination of hypothermia, dehydration and fear. Sadly they got separated and died alone, not far from the entrance. As a result, access is only allowed with a guide, the entrances are locked and much of the cave’s network of passages is off limits. Our tour covered quite a large area, and it is the only accessible area of the cave.
We hope you found the history of the Valkenburg caves interesting as we were really impressed by the experience. We edited back as much as we could…we have so many photos! The caves themselves, as a source of mining for Marl stone, have a rich history with the perils and challenges of mining by hand with horses as their only support. The murals were extraordinary and gave us a comprehensive history of the area and the caves, bringing history to life. The ticket granting us entry to the Velvet Cave with a guided tour included access to the Castle to tour the ruins. Next stop…the castle. Valkenburg Castle is unique in the Netherlands in that it is the only castle built on a hill. Limburg is known for its hilly terrain, unlike the rest of the Netherlands. In the year 1115, fortifications were erected at the castle site by Gosewijn the 1st, Lord of Valkenburg. It has been rebuilt, destroyed in a siege, rebuilt. During the Dutch Spanish War, the castle suffered great damage as it wasn ‘t built to withstand the new, heavy mortar. The Dutch Army tried to repair the castle but were unsuccessful due to ongoing wars with Spain and France. There were many takeovers of the castle due to sieges from the 15th century to the 17th century. This was the final destruction of the castle and that is what we are viewing today. During the Franco Dutch war in 1672, Wilhelm III, blew it up to prevents the French from taking the castle.
The metal structure of the figure on high is a landmark sight in Valkenburg at the ground level. In the wind, it swiftly rotates and it is always a compelling sight.
In 1863, the castle became a tourist attraction. In 1937 during restorations, workers discovered secret underground passages carved intothe rock beneath the castle. These secret passages were used by the Medieval Knights as escape routes during a siege.
Touring the ruins was in no way a compromised experience for us. We have toured many intact castles and we found squalling impressive in a different way. You could feel the ghosts of the past and witness its history in its demise.
We met this woman and her husband who are from Edmonton, Alberta Canada. She was a good sport and allowed herself to be held captive (briefly) by the stocks.
When we see a bike shop, we can’t help ourselves…we love to check them out. We are big fans of Kask helmets with their aerated design and straps with buckles that actually work.
We have walked quite a distance today, so why not walk further? We have walked to the other end of town to visit her Shimano Experience Centre. Several cycling racing events happen in Valkenburg and this is a part of that.
The Shimano Experience Centre has exhibits, virtual displays and simulators providing visitors with opportunities to see and use their products. They also sell products here for their others areas like fishing and rowing.
Holland is going a bit crazy with the European Cup Soccer tournament coming up in a few days. Kind of like how we are with the Stanley Cup for ice hockey in Canada. Barry is trying on the Beer Holder hat and the crazy glasses, all in the trademark orange colour synonymous with Dutch traditions.
Karen PoretThank you for the fun, informative and inspiring tour! Hope Seavo gets fixed so you can rest your feet upon its pedals soon :) Reply to this comment 6 months ago
