St. Gerlach

The Norbertine monastery (convent) of St. Gerlach was founded in 1202 over the grave of the pilgrim and hermit Gerlach of Houthem. This Gerlach lived between 1120 and 1165.

The monastery in Heinsberg to which the shrine of St. Gerlach was donated in 1165 was the house monastery of the lords of Valkenburg-Heinsberg.

Gerlach at some point came into conflict with the monks of Meerssen.

The land on which the hermitage of St. Gerlach stood was donated to the Mariastift of Heinsberg by Count Gozewijn IV of Valkenburg-Heinsberg in the year of his death (1165).

The St. Gerlach Monastery originated at the tomb of St. Gerlach, making it a shrine of St. Gerlach from the beginning. 

The convent of St. Gerlach in the 17th century had about 37 noble religious or canonesses according to the monastic or rule of life of St. Norbert ("virgines primae").

At the head of the monastic community of St. Gerlach were a prioress and a provost.

The provost was in charge of the monastery's income. In this, the tenant farms played an important role, including the tenant farm built in 1759 to a design by the Aachen architect Couven.

In the 17th century the population and nobility of the three so-called Landen van Overmaze in the hilly landscape of Valkenburg, Dalhem and 's-Hertogenrade wanted to remain Catholic under Spanish rule.

In 1599 and in 1606 Henricus Costerius, dean of Bergen op Zoom, donated relics to the monastery. In the year 1599 the Gerlach well was recovered by the steward of the monastery.