Caves of Maastricht

Also known as the Marl Caves of Maastricht/Grotten Sint-Pietersberg/The Maastricht Underground is a collection of caves, the origins of which go back to the 13th century.

The caves were originally dug to mine Marl. Over time the caves formed a network so vast that it was used for other purposes.

The caves were no longer used for mining, as the value of Lime dropped, and an open faced quarry was used. During World War II, the Cave complex was used to store many valuable paintings, and armaments that could be used against the Germans, including a proposed sortie of 30 tanks that would sortie against the Germans that was timed to attack at the same point of liberation. In addition to the military, over 6000 citizens took shelter in the caves during World War II. Over some hundreds of years, art has been drawn on the cave walls, providing some attraction to tourists who can tour some of the cave sections. [1] [2] [3]


After the war, there were plans to utilise the underground complex as a bomb shelter.

The caves stretch 200 miles long, and have 23,000 passages.[4]

References
  1. "the astonishing caves of maastricht" https://adrianprattinholland.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-astonishing-caves-of-maastricht.html
  2. "The Caves of Maastricht" https://discoverlimburg.nl/caves-maastricht/
  3. Bender, Marvin "A DUTCH TREAT" The New York Times Nov 8 1981 https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/08/travel/a-dutch-treat.html
  4. Bender, Marvin "A DUTCH TREAT" The New York Times Nov 8 1981 https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/08/travel/a-dutch-treat.html
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