Kruisheren monastery

Apart from being a decorative element, the cross above the entrance to the former Kruisherenkerk on the Kruisherengang can also be seen as a kind of property mark. A clear reference to the order to which this church belonged: the Kruisheren.
A similar Maltese cross still stands above a gate at the side of the Abtstraat and also used to decorate the gate, which gave access to the church from the Kommel.

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This is the former convent of the Knights of the Cross (the order of the Holy Cross). The marlstone complex consists of a monastery church and four monastery wings around a courtyard. It is one of the few completely preserved Gothic monasteries in the Netherlands. It dates from the 15th century.
In the Middle Ages, Maastricht was a pilgrim city with many monastic orders. The Kruisheren were not there yet. In 1433 - during the Heiligdomsvaart - the patrician Egidius van Elderen made a few houses at the Kommel available for them to spend the night on their way through. Three years later he donated these premises to them. On this spot, the final monastery complex was built in stages. First a small temporary church with a straw roof, and gradually more. In 1462, lightning struck the roof and the tower had to be rebuilt in a much more modest way. It was completed in 1520.

The Crosiers were particularly skilled in copying, binding, illustrating and decorating books. They also cared for the sick (especially during the many plague epidemics) and celebrated masses, especially with the various sister congregations. The convent flourished until the arrival of the Spaniards in 1579. Then followed a merciless plundering of churches and monasteries, including the Kruisheren monastery. After a difficult recovery, the monastery fell prey to the violence of war in 1632 and 1673, when Frederick Henry and the French king Louis XIV conquered the city. In 1678 the French left and it remained quiet for a long time, until they returned in 1795 and the French laws came into force. This included the separation of church and state. All monasteries and chapters were abolished. The complex became an ammunition depot, barracks and a garrison bakery. In fact, things only changed again when Victor de Stuers gave old buildings a new purpose at the end of the 19th century. The monastery complex became the National Agricultural Research Station. Various other uses followed. Now it is a beautiful design hotel.