The Ursuline Convent

Museum Het Ursulinenconvent

was home to the Ursuline Sisters until 1973. This educational congregation provided, in particular, primary and secondary education for girls. The Ursulines established themselves in Eijsden (Breust) as early as 1849. The monastery, educational facilities, economic buildings, and accommodations for boarding students (boarding school) grew with the increasing number of sisters and students. After the closure of the monastery in 1973, the building was converted (1982-1984) into the town hall of the municipality of Eijsden under the direction of architect P. Satijn. After the merger of the municipality of Eijsden with Margraten, the building was briefly vacant in 2013. Today, the building is set up as the International Museum for Family History and houses a brasserie. Since 2015, the Africa Museum has also been housed in the building. Furthermore, a VVV Service Point has been established.

Of the many buildings that once made up the Ursuline Monastery, the main building in neo-Renaissance style from 1899 (designed by Joh. Kayser, a student of Pierre Cuypers), the plain west facade from 1881, and the neo-Gothic chapel from 1892 (designed by the Aachen architect Goebbels) currently remain. In the garden, there is still a Lourdes grotto from 1880 and a small monastery cemetery.

On the left side of the street, we see the stately house (no. 16-18) where, as noted on the plaque, Prof. Eugène Dubois (1858-1940) was born, the scientist who discovered the missing link between ape and man in what was then Dutch India. A room dedicated entirely to him can be found in the International Museum for Family History.

Eijsden-Margraten