One time, travelling through the Netherlands, I stumbled upon Eden.
Close to Maastricht, in the valley of the Geul river:
Chateau St. Gerlach.
A hotel that marries both earthly delights and transcendence.
Chateau occupies a space once inhabited by Norbertine monks. They set up
their abbey where a 12th century holy man – St. Gerlach (Gerlac/Gerlachus)
had lived in his humble abode.
Tradition has it that Gerlach was a nobleman, for thirty years a soldier
in the army of the Holy Roman Emperor. He supplemented his knight’s income by robbing
travelers, as one version of his tale has it; according to another, he lived a life of frivolity and vice. This
rudderless existence came to an abrupt end when Gerlach’s wife died. The
experience brought about a conversion. Shedding his armour, Gerlach put on
penitential robes and set off on a road to Damascus.
He went to Rome, and, from there, to the Holy Land. There, he served the
poor and sick before returning to the Eternal City.
Pope Hadrian IV advised Gerlach to go home and live a life of solitude.
So, the weary penitent settled 9 km from native Maastricht choosing a hollow
oak as his shelter.
He led a life of a hermit - praying, fasting and repenting.
Thanks to his piety and ascetic lifestyle, Gerlach’s fame spread and
many people came to him for prayer, advice and help.
St. Hildegard of Bingen herself is said to have held him in high esteem.
However, other church figures looked at him with suspicion. A local bishop even
asked to cut the tree.
Shortly before this holy man’s death – it is said – that the water in a
nearby well transformed miraculously into wine as a divine confirmation of
Gerlach’s virtues.
About two decades later, the Norbertines, whose white habit Gerlach
wore, founded an abbey in Houthem (or near the oak tree) to venerate his relics
and provide a shelter for pilgrims.
Thereafter, it became a convent for noblewomen only.
Since the Middle Ages the abbatial church has served as a stop for
pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostella.
Over the years, the cloister complex, include a farm, has metamorphosed
into a hotel it is today. A member of the Relais & Chateaux Group.
 |
 |
***
And it's such a treat!
Château St. Gerlach has a blissful feel of a country estate.
The beds are super-comfortable guaranteeing a night's rest.
The gourmet cuisine delights.
Many of the ingredients are sourced straight from the hotel's own organic
gardens.
You drink tea made from the herbs raised in the hotel’s own herb garden!
The spa & wellness centre is not grand. But you relax in a pool
housed in a classically-stylized villa.
The grounds are spacious and your walks take you along nature reserve.
What’s more precious than enjoying the sights of birds and horses (they
have the Polish breed of konik). You
also cannot miss the Galloway cattle. Until I found out what they were I though they were a sort of bisons.
And if you like art, not just sacred, the grounds are dotted with many
modern sculptures – some interesting, others not so. In the hotel lobby, you’ll
see remnants of the original cloister’s Gothic arch incorporated into the
design.
 |
 |
My description would not have been complete with a reference to the
orchard, vineyard (yes, they produce their own wine) and the apiary (beehives).
This is a pleasurable weekend gateway.
***
(Warning: read further on only if
you are a history buff.)
The cloister has had a turbulent history.
During the Dutch revolt against the Spanish, the property was destroyed
by the troops of Louis of Nassau, a strongly Calvinist brother of the leader of that revolt.
The territory stayed as a walled-off Catholic enclave of the Spanish
Netherlands until 1713, when the Austrian Habsburgs assumed control over it. In 1786, it was ceded it to the Dutch and the
last Norbertine sisters were forced to leave (mind you they were victims, not
of belated Protestant reaction, but of Austria’s Catholic Emperor Joseph’s
dissolution of contemplative orders).
The premises were put to military use by the French revolutionary
troops.
They were then sold off to a notary who converted the abbot’s building
into a noble residence, inhabited by several noble families.
The church, however, was left to serve the local parish – which it
continues to this day.
In the 1970s, the last owner - baron Robert De Selys de Fanson left the
property in the hands of the local church authorities.
The estate would have decayed were it not for investor Camille Oostwegel’s
plan to turn it into a luxury hotel and restaurant. (An impressive monastery-hotel conversion in Maastricht is his brainchild, too.)
Meticulously restored from 1995 until 1997, Château St. Gerlach opened as a luxury hotel with
several restaurants and spa & wellness.
Since then, it has been used – inter
alia - as a high-level retreat, hosting meetings of European bankers, EU
Foreign Ministers, Dutch royals, even US President-at the time George W. Bush.
Among its guest were also the Rolling Stones.
***
What of St. Gerlach’s legacy?
Each year some 20,000 pilgrims pay their respects.
So the hotel’s owner also invested in a new museum and a treasury for
St. Gerlach – preserving his skull, bones and tunic.
The church, which holds the Saint’s tomb, is definitely worth visiting.
It was built between 1720 and 1727 in quite a flamboyant southern
German Baroque style. Its walls and ceiling are adorned by amazing frescoes
showcasing the life of St. Gerlach. These two features make it special.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Compared to the usually austere church interiors in the Netherlands,
this church looks stunning!
And there is also something interesting.
At the bottom of the Saint’s tomb there is “holy sand” (really a white
dust) you can pick up and take with you.
In the past, the faithful used to sprinkle it around their farmlands to
fertilize the soil and speed up recovery of sick people and animals.
Worth giving a try...
