Jesuit Monastery (Valkenburg) by Simone Zaal

About "Jesuit Monastery (Valkenburg)"

by Simone Zaal

About the artwork

The monastery was built from 1893-1895 by the Society of Jesus, which had been expelled from Germany because of the Kulturkampf. The architect was H.J. Hürth. The Ignatius College for the German Jesuits was established here. In 1911 another wing and a library were added. An imposing E-shaped complex with a neo-Gothic chapel with a crossing tower was created. The Jesuits brought together many precious books and published the Commentaries on the Holy Scriptures.

During World War II the Jesuits were again expelled, this time by the Gestapo, and in 1943 the chapel was blown up by the occupying forces. In 1942, the occupiers established a National Socialist Reichsschule in the building. The most precious books had been taken to safety, and after the occupation the Jesuits recovered the rest of the library almost intact. In 1959 the books were transferred to the Jesuit School of Theology in Frankfurt am Main.

From 1948-1961 the building stood empty, after which the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph moved in and established a home for the elderly under the name: Huize Boslust. From 1962-1964 a new chapel was built to replace the one destroyed in the occupation period with money from the German compensation scheme.

In 1984, houses for the remaining nuns were built in the garden of the convent, and in 1985 the nuns moved in, calling this new complex St. Joseph's Convent. The old Jesuit convent stood empty since then. At the end of the 20th century it was sold to the Transcende