Our historic Kleibergshof farmstead in Sittard-Geleen, featured in the 2017 Monuments Day Magazine:
A brief history of our listed building (dating from 1726) can be found in the Sittard-Geleen Open Monument Day 2017 Magazine.
Kleibergshof, Millenerweg 3, Sittard.
Just a stone’s throw from Millen Castle lies the historic Kleibergshof farmstead. The farmstead used to be situated in a rural setting, but is now surrounded by a business park.
The farm comprises three building blocks, grouped around a courtyard: the farmhouse, a long barn and an L-shaped stable wing. These separate sections are connected by walls, each of which formerly had a gate. Two sections of wall have a small gable roof and an entrance gate with a basket-arch. The ground floor of the farmhouse is situated approximately one metre above ground level. On the street side, the farmhouse comprises one and a half storeys. The symmetrical front façade has two window openings on either side of the door, which is accessed via bluestone steps; these are fitted with a masonry lintel (it can be inferred from these lintels that they are not original and were altered at a later date), wooden shutters and a bluestone sill. The windows used to have wrought-iron grilles. Wrought-iron wall anchors have been fitted at the level of the upper floor joists. On the upper floor, three former hay hatches are still present on the front façade.
The end walls of the long barn have a large entrance gate. The exterior is characterised by a virtually solid appearance, but there are openings on the inside.
The external walls of the L-shaped stable wing were originally solid, but openings were subsequently added.
To the left of the house stands the farm’s former bakehouse, which has now been converted into a house.
All the façades are constructed of brown-red brick (field-fired), laid in a cross-bond pattern and with flat joints; the gable roofs are covered with red Dutch tiles. The complex was built in the so-called traditional architectural style.
Archival research has not yet revealed whether the Kleibergshof belonged to Millen Castle; it is, however, known that around 1823 the farmstead was called ‘Op Roer’. It was owned by the Coenengracht family from Maastricht. The last family to manage and live on the farm whilst it was still in agricultural use was the Penders family. Fortunately, following the end of its farming operations, the farmstead has been repurposed. It has recently been renovated, with an extension added at the rear to accommodate its new function: the car company Speed Service, the leading Porsche 911 specialist!
