If you don’t know any better, it’s easy to walk straight past the cobbled side street off Tongersestraat. There’s little to indicate that this uphill street (which gave rise to the nickname “De Berg”) leads to a centuries-old building where Franciscan friars once lived and prisoners were held.
“It is a bit hidden away”, agrees Bart Zwegers, curator of academic heritage at Maastricht University, as he ascends De Berg. The Eye of Providence above the entrance to the building serves as a reminder of its origins. “Students don’t have much reason to come here. There are no lecture halls or study spaces. You could call it an oasis of calm.”
And it was calm, until 1673. In that year, the Franciscan friars (minderbroeders) returned to the Limburg capital after being forced out of the city for suspected collaboration with the Spanish during the Eighty Years’ War.
Simplicity
The Franciscans’ original convent on Sint Pieterstraat had become too small. “They found this land”, says Zwegers, pointing to the ground, “which was being used for clay extraction. It was the perfect spot. They used bricks made of local clay to build their new, second convent.”
The first stone was laid in 1699. By 1703, construction of the convent – now the central hall of the university building – was completed. The adjoining monastery was completed five years later. “It was all built in a simple, classical style befitting the Franciscans. Sadly, they had to abandon it when the French Revolution began and they were driven out.”
From that point on, the building served various purposes, including functioning as a courthouse and a prison. It was used as a prison until 1975, holding political prisoners during the Second World War. The courthouse was closed down in 1995. “That’s when the university acquired the building”, explains Zwegers.
Salvation
“In the 1970s, there was a lot of vacant property in the city. At the time, the prevailing view was that a university should be modern, with a campus. Maastricht University dared to go against the tide and, in doing so, was the salvation of these historic buildings. Repurposing old buildings is a wonderful alternative to new construction from both a historical and an economic perspective.”
After four years of renovation, the Minderbroedersberg building was ready for the university’s Executive Board. “The layout was changed, windows were added, the mezzanine floor was removed”, Zwegers lists. Preserved features include the large columns and the grand staircase leading to the first floor, added in the 19th and 20th centuries.
One of the more recent additions to the building is the large blue globe with thousands of glowing LED lights that descends from the vaulted ceiling of the hall, hanging above visitors’ heads. “This artwork, called Eternal Blue, serves as a reminder of the Christmas 2019 cyber-attack.”
Importance
The artwork will certainly draw visitors’ attention on Open Monument Day. Zwegers will be giving three tours over the weekend, and he’ll be sure to point out the rotating exhibitions on different topics that are held in the building throughout the year.
“The university’s art and heritage committee organises an exhibition every six months. This time, the focus is on the history of Maastricht and the surrounding region. That’s why a weekend like this is so important for students, casual visitors and local residents alike. This is our history, and the university attaches great importance to it.”