The oldest Jewish building found in the Netherlands

The Mikvah of Venlo was found in 2004 during excavations at the Meuse boulevard. It is the oldest monument in the Netherlands with a solid connection to the Jewish community.

The Mikvah was constructed against an already standing, large stone building. This building from 1200-1250 was located centrally on the market square of Venlo. It possibly was the governmental seat of the Count of Gelre, a sovereign lord. Likely to improve the financial position of Venlo as a trade settlement, the Count of Gelre allowed Jews from Cologne to migrate to Venlo. These new people commissioned the construction of, at the time, luxurious ritual bathhouse. The Mikvah was in use for a few decades.

Around 1350, the Mikvah was no longer in use and eventually used as a slurry put. The exact reason for this desecration is not known. Still, a possible connection exists to the plague epidemics ravaging Europe in the middle of the fourteenth century. No link was put between hygiene and the plague. People sought a cause for the disease that had killed hundred-thousands in a short time. The Jews were blamed for the spread of the plague and Pogroms took place all over Europe. It would take a very long time for the Jewish people and culture to recover. The foundations of the bathhouse have been transported to the new wing of the museum and is restored in 2013.