Natuurhistorisch Museum (Natural History Museum), Maastricht

The Natural History Museum Maastricht is a remarkable institution dedicated to the geology, paleontology, flora, and fauna of South Limburg. Situated in the historic Jekerkwartier district, the museum occupies the former Monastery of the Grey Sisters (Grauwzustersklooster), adding a rich historical dimension to its scientific focus.

The museum's collection boasts 550,000 objects, including notable Cretaceous fossils from Sint-Pietersberg. Among its most famous exhibits is the skull of a Mosasaur, affectionately nicknamed "Bèr," along with specimens of Hoffmann's giant turtle and Suyckerbuyk's turtle. The museum also continues to seek the return of a significant Mosasaurus skull, taken by the French during the Siege of Maastricht (1794) and currently housed in the French National Museum of Natural History.

Visitors can explore period rooms featuring cabinets of curiosities, including an extraordinary 19th-century rat king, a rare and eerie natural phenomenon. Dioramas, aquariums, and terrariums further enrich the experience, bringing the region’s ecological past and present to life.

The museum has occupied the monastery complex for over a century. Built in the 17th century, it retains original wooden floors and vaulted ceilings. Huis Stas, part of the complex, features Maasland Renaissance architecture with brick and limestone details. Once an orphanage and municipal shelter, the site now hosts temporary exhibitions in its 1705 chapel. The entrance to Place de Bosquet is marked by bronze reliefs by Han van Wetering, with a Grey Sister statue by Frans van de Laar (1921) overlooking visitors.

Behind the museum, the August de Wever Botanical Garden stretches along the Jeker River. Redesigned by Mien Ruys in the late 1940s, it blends clarity with geometric elements like flint-walled terraces, ponds, and a pergola. The garden hosts lime-loving plants such as zinc violet, wild garlic, and native orchids. Art pieces, including a bronze bust of Jac. P. Thijsse, enhance the landscape. A glass pavilion shelters a marl block with a Cretaceous fossil, while a Wollemia tree-a living fossil-connects past and present.