Vallenberg quarry, Sibbe, Valkenburg aan de Geul, Limburg, Netherlandsi

Regional Level Types
Vallenberg quarry	Quarry
Sibbe	Village
Valkenburg aan de Geul	Municipality
Limburg	Province
Netherlands	Country

The Vallenberg Quarry or Boschgrot is a marl quarry in the Dutch municipality of Valkenburg aan de Geul in South Limburg. The underground quarry is located southeast of Valkenburg on the Sibbergrubbe in the southwestern part of the Biebosch slope forest, on the northeastern edge of the Margraten Plateau in the transition to the Geuldal. At the site, the plateau plunges steeply for several meters.

About 150 meters north of the quarry is the Biebosch quarry with the Lime Kiln Biebosch,
about 150 meters to the southeast are the Groeve van de Verdwenen Honden, the Ingvarsputje and the Canadasbergske,
about 200 meters to the southwest are the quarries Groeve het Kornelsbergske and Groeve het Paulusbergske,
approximately 235 meters to the southwest lies the Groeve Lemmekenskoel, approximately 300 meters to the west lies the Groeve behind Lemmekenskoel and to the northwest lie the Beckersbergske and the Groeve naast Beckersbergske.

In the late Middle Ages, the quarry was already mined by block crushers and used for limestone extraction until the 19th century. Research has shown that exploitation started in the last half of the 12th century. Finds from the Middle Ages have been made in the quarry, including a Raeren earthenware oil lamp from around 1550 and a dinner plate from the 13th century.

At the end of the 16th century, the quarry had already partly collapsed and was no longer in use.

In 1985, a counterfeit coin was discovered in the quarry by Han Bochman and the Bindels brothers. The counterfeit coins bore the dates 1569, 1576 and 1577. The counterfeiters must have probably been active in the quarry at that time.

In 1988, an earthenware dinner plate dating from the 13th century was found.

A book about the quarry was published in September 2008. This book reflects the research of Kevin Amendt and mainly describes the mining history of the Vallenberg quarry. The book describes, among other things, the block breaking method that differs from the sawing method in other Limburg quarries. In the front part of the quarry, which is also the oldest, only chisels were used to break blocks, instead of a saw.

In 2018, the Biebosch, together with the quarry area, was transferred from Staatsbosbeheer to Natuurmonumenten as part of a land exchange.

The Vallenberg Quarry is an irregularly arranged quarry and has many earth pipes. The quarry has an area of ​​21,486 square meters with a corridor length of 2,489 meters.

The entrance to the quarry is closed with bars, so that bats can use the quarry as a roost.

The manager of the quarry is Natuurmonumenten. In 2015, the quarry was investigated for safety and was condemned.

Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vallenberggroeve
Wikidata ID:	Q3258660

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