Heksenkeuken quarry, Valkenburg aan de Geul, Limburg, Netherlandsi

Regional Level Types
Heksenkeuken quarry	Quarry
Valkenburg aan de Geul	Municipality
Limburg	Province
Netherlands	Country

The Heksenkeuken ("Witches' Kitchen") quarry is a marl quarry and rock formation in the Dutch municipality of Valkenburg aan de Geul in South Limburg. The underground quarry is located on the west side of Valkenburg on the Plenkertstraat in Plenkert on the northern edge of the Margraten Plateau in the transition to the Geuldal. At the site, the plateau plunges steeply for several meters. The Heksenkeuken is part of the Valkenburg Open Air Theater and is located in the Polferbos slope forest.

About 65 and 125 meters to the southeast respectively are the Quarries behind Villa Rozenheuvel behind the Villa Rozenheuvel and the Plenkert Quarry, to the west are the Groeve onder het Rotspark ("Quarry under the Rock Park"), the flint mines of Valkenburg and the Roman Catacombs in the Heide quarry.

In the late Middle Ages, the quarry was probably mined by block breakers for the extraction of limestone.

Around the 18th century, according to tradition, the Witches' Kitchen was used by the goat riders who used the underground space for meetings and to get together before going on a raid.

After purchasing the area, Armand Diepen had walking paths constructed in the slope behind his Villa Alpha house in the winter of 1892-1893, creating the Rotspark and the Polferbos. The area was then opened to hikers. Witches' Kitchen was also in the purchased area and, given the various postcards from the early 20th century, it became a place where tourists also came to walk.

In 1915, Jan Diepen, who lived in Villa Alpha, descended from a family of textile manufacturers and who was inspired by open-air theatres in Austria, asked architect Pierre Cuypers to build an open-air theatre in the rock park in the existing depression near the rock formation of the Witches' Kitchen. Under the architect's supervision, a grandstand was carved out in six weeks with capacity for 1,200 spectators to watch performances. The Valkenburg Open Air Theater was opened on June 6, 1916.

The quarry has an area of ​​approximately 78 square meters.

The term Witches' Kitchen is popularly used to refer to the entire rock formation near the open-air theater. This rock formation consists of several cavities and passageways that are connected to each other. The actual Witches' Kitchen, the place where the goat riders are said to have gathered, is a space that is lower than the floor of the theatre and is situated in the rock formation when viewed from the stands to the right of the stage. This space, which is used as storage, has an opening on the side of the stand and is accessible on the other side of that space where it is connected to the large domed space. From that large space, one can head south and then reach the large stage of the open-air theatre through the large opening. You can also go north, where you enter the artists' entrance at the top of a path that runs to the cash registers on the street. Furthermore, towards the west, one can climb a staircase called the Reuzentrap ("Giant's Staircase"). In the past, this staircase would have gone all the way to the top of the rock formation, but now after a few meters it bends to the left, where a tunnel (seen from the stands) leads to a gate on the left above the stage.

For safety reasons, the large vault has concrete arches that hold the limestone ceiling in place. A large glass wall has been installed between the space with the large vault and the outdoor stage to limit the influence of the weather inside. In addition to the large open-air stage, there is also a small stage inside under (the west side of) the large vault.

Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heksenkeuken
Wikidata ID:	Q95975336

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