St. Gerlach

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

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

At some point, Gerlach 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 dedicated to St. Gerlach from the very beginning.

According to the Rule of St. Norbert, the Convent of St. Gerlach had about 37 noble nuns or canonesses in the 17th century ("virgines primae").

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

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

In the 17th century, the people and nobility of the three Landen van Overmaze wished to remain Catholic under Spanish rule.

In 1599 and 1606, Henricus Costerius, deacon of Bergen op Zoom, donated relics to the monastery. In 1599, the Gerlach well was restored by the monastery’s steward.