Former monastery Heiligerlee

 archaeological site, monastery, interesting place

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At the terrain are the (hidden) remains of the monastery of Mons Sinai. The monastery was a nuns convent and founded before 1204. The remains consist of the fundaments of the convent building, the cemetery and the convent mill. The convent played a historic role in the Dutch Revolt (1568-1648), when two commanders of the fighting armies died in combat and were transported to the holy church of the convent. They were the Jean de Ligne, Count of Aremberg, who was stadholder of Groningen and commander of the state army of king Philips II of Spain, and Adolf, Count of Nassau. Adolf was the youngest brother of William of Orange, the leader of the Revolt. Both noblemen were temporarily buried in the church. When the state army arrived, the Protestant Wallonian mercenary troops of Ludwig, Count of Nassau, burned down the convent's building and fledged to the river Ems, where they were annihilated by state troops. Ludwig nearly escaped by swimming across the Ems. The convent was briefly conquered by Protestant troops in 1583, but was reconquered by Spanish troops. The end of the convent neared in 1594 when the province of Groningen was transformed to Protestantism. The convent's buildings were sold in 1597 and of its remains the farm of Kloosterboer was built. The old medieval convent buildings were burned down by the plundering Spanish army in 1624. A very thick brick wall was still visible in 1839, but the bricks were digged out and sold. The cellars under the farm building are possibly the only remains left of the convent.