Discover MergelRijk

Discover MergelRijk

At MergelRijk you will visit the best cave in Valkenburg that guarantees all historical stories about the caves and marl. During your adventurous journey through the cave, the stories are told through beautiful marl and sand sculptures and interesting films. In addition, there is much more to experience in the best underground attraction of Valkenburg!

During your visit you can make your own marlstone souvenir in the worskhop area!

The Thomas Didden quarry is also very special, where you can still imagine yourself in the time when the miners were working in the (almost) dark 300 years ago.

And of course the 3D Cave Paintings!

Below you can read more about what you will experience in MergelRijk.

Grotchampignons

Discover MergelRijk

Grotchampignons

At MergelRijk you will visit the best cave in Valkenburg that guarantees all historical stories about the caves and marl. During your adventurous journey through the cave, the stories are told through beautiful marl and sand sculptures and interesting films. In addition, there is much more to experience in the best underground attraction of Valkenburg!

During your visit you can make your own marlstone souvenir in the worskhop area!

The Thomas Didden quarry is also very special, where you can still imagine yourself in the time when the miners were working in the (almost) dark 300 years ago.

And of course the 3D Cave Paintings!

Below you can read more about what you will experience in MergelRijk.

3D Grotschilderingen Nieuw Bij Mergelrijk

3D Cave Paintings

In MergelRijk, spectacular 3D cave paintings can be seen on the walls, ceilings and floors in part of the caves of MergelRijk. These cave paintings are made by the best 3D art artists in the world.

You can only experience the 3D paintings by taking a picture with them. So don’t forget to bring your camera or smartphone, because you’ll need them here!

3D Cave Paintings

3D Grotschilderingen Nieuw Bij Mergelrijk

From June 15, 2022, spectacular 3D cave paintings can be seen on the walls, ceilings and floors in part of the caves of MergelRijk. These cave paintings are made by the best 3D art artists in the world.

You can only experience the 3D paintings by taking a picture with them. So don’t forget to bring your camera or smartphone, because you’ll need them here!

The Night Watch

In MergelRijk you can see a unique life-size sculpture of one of the most famous paintings in the world. The Night Watch. The statue was made by artist Jacques van der Velden.
Achter de realisatie hiervan schuilt een bijzonder verhaal, waar je in MergelRijk achter zult komen.
In addition to the 3D cave paintings, the statue of the Night Watch is the most photographed sculpture in MergelRijk!

Thomas Didden quarry

The Thomas Didden quarry is a very special part of MergelRijk. The entrance to this part of the quarry was hidden for a long time behind a thick layer of marl. In 2021 we made this quarry accessible to the public.

Time has stood still for hundreds of years in the Thomas Didden quarry. It is as dark as when the Blockbreakers left the quarry 300 years ago. Exciting!


Thomas Didden wrote his name on the wall here in 1706.
If you visit MergelRijk you can now also leave your name in the quarry, just like Thomas Didden did in 1706. This is how you immortalize your name in the caves of Valkenburg.

The Night Watch

In MergelRijk you can see a unique life-size sculpture of one of the most famous paintings in the world. The Night Watch. The statue was made by artist Jacques van der Velden.
Achter de realisatie hiervan schuilt een bijzonder verhaal, waar je in MergelRijk achter zult komen.
In addition to the 3D cave paintings, the statue of the Night Watch is the most photographed sculpture in MergelRijk!

Thomas Didden quarry

The Thomas Didden quarry is a very special part of MergelRijk. The entrance to this part of the quarry was hidden for a long time behind a thick layer of marl. In 2021 we made this quarry accessible to the public.

Time has stood still for hundreds of years in the Thomas Didden quarry. It is as dark as when the Blockbreakers left the quarry 300 years ago. Exciting!

Thomas Didden wrote his name on the wall here in 1706.
If you visit MergelRijk you can now also leave your name in the quarry, just like Thomas Didden did in 1706. This is how you immortalize your name in the caves of Valkenburg.

mosasaurus in Mergelrijk

Mosaquarium

After the introduction to the world of caves and marl by the Zandwizard, we will take you to the only Mosaquarium in the world! In the Mosaquarium you walk on the seabed of the Cretaceous Sea. This colorful underwater world was the wealth of the Mosasaurus, or king of the Cretaceous Sea, 70 million years ago. You come face to face with this all-consuming sea monster, which could grow up to 15 meters in length and of which several 70-year-old fossils have already been discovered in the Limburg caves. A unique experience!

Mosaquarium

After the introduction to the world of caves and marl by the Zandwizard, we will take you to the only Mosaquarium in the world! In the Mosaquarium you walk on the seabed of the Cretaceous Sea. This colorful underwater world was the wealth of the Mosasaurus, or king of the Cretaceous Sea, 70 million years ago. You come face to face with this all-consuming sea monster, which could grow up to 15 meters in length and of which several 70-year-old fossils have already been discovered in the Limburg caves. A unique experience!

65 million years back in time

In MergelRijk we first take you back to the time when the marl was created. Unique fossils from millions of years ago are on display here. One of the exhibits is a jaw of a mosasaur, an 18 meter long sea lizard that lived here in the time of the dinosaurs.

You can also see many attributes that were used in mining, in the extraction of marl, coal and flint. About 5000 years ago there were 100 flint mines in South Limburg. The inhabitants of that time used it to make tools, which have been found all over Europe and can now be admired in MergelRijk.

Mergelworkshop voor kinderen

Cave Workshop

The grotation winch is one of the nicest parts of MergelRijk!

In the cave workshop, tables with the marl blocks and tools are ready for you. You can grab a block here for free and turn it into a nice work of art or souvenir. You start by watching an instructional video, after which nothing stands in the way of a good result.

You can take your own marl creation home with you.

Cave Workshop

The grotation winch is one of the nicest parts of MergelRijk!

In the cave workshop, tables with the marl blocks and tools are ready for you. You can grab a block here for free and turn it into a nice work of art or souvenir. You start by watching an instructional video, after which nothing stands in the way of a good result.

You can take your own marl creation home with you.

Kinderen vinden dinosaurus tand in het mergel

Fossil Quarry

In the fossil quarry, there seems to be no end to the number of shells and shark teeth that can be found. That’s because we have all the fossils that are still found in the Valkenburg caves collected for you and thus replenish our fossil quarry again and again.

You can take home what you find in the fossil quarry. But also leave some for the other children to come!

Fossil Quarry

In the fossil quarry, there seems to be no end to the number of shells and shark teeth that can be found. That’s because we have all the fossils that are still found in the Valkenburg caves collected for you and thus replenish our fossil quarry again and again.

You can take home what you find in the fossil quarry. But also leave some for the other children to come!

Kinderfeestje in mergelrijk

DinoRijk

Dino’s can be found in various places in MergelRijk, but you will find most of them in the part of MergelRijk that we call DinoRijk.

Deep in the cave you will walk around among the large dinosaurs in the cave jungle. You can even touch and cuddle them. And if they’re in a good mood, they’ll even take a picture with you!

Along the way we tell interesting stories about the dinosaurs. Where they lived, how many species there were and which animal was a dinosaur and which was not. This way you will also find out why there are dinosaurs in MergelRijk!

DinoRijk

Kinderfeestje in mergelrijk

Dino’s can be found in various places in MergelRijk, but you will find most of them in the part of MergelRijk that we call DinoRijk.

Deep in the cave you will walk around among the large dinosaurs in the cave jungle. You can even touch and cuddle them. And if they’re in a good mood, they’ll even take a picture with you!

Along the way we tell interesting stories about the dinosaurs. Where they lived, how many species there were and which animal was a dinosaur and which was not. This way you will also find out why there are dinosaurs in MergelRijk!

De Zandtovenaar

The sand wizard

The sand magician known from TV has drawn two beautiful stories with marl dust in MergelRijk. One about the origin of marl and caves, in which dinosaurs and bats also play a role. And one about the Christmas story. The films of these stories can be seen continuously in MergelRijk. Of course we only show the latter around Christmas.

Could you draw with sand just like the Sand Wizard? In MergelRijk you can practice yourself with marl sand and see if you can make beautiful drawings with it. Here applies: just try! And if it fails just try again and again and… never give up. Maybe you will become a real Sand Wizard, so don’t forget to take a picture of it!

The sand wizard

The sand magician known from TV has drawn two beautiful stories with marl dust in MergelRijk. One about the origin of marl and caves, in which dinosaurs and bats also play a role. And one about the Christmas story. The films of these stories can be seen continuously in MergelRijk. Of course we only show the latter around Christmas.

Could you draw with sand just like the Sand Wizard? In MergelRijk you can practice yourself with marl sand and see if you can make beautiful drawings with it. Here applies: just try! And if it fails just try again and again and… never give up. Maybe you will become a real Sand Wizard, so don’t forget to take a picture of it!

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