Like many settlements, Sittard also originated at a place where a road (here the one from Flanders over the Maas to the Rhineland) crossed a water stream (here: the Geleenbeek). Due to the unpredictability of the stream, people settled on the higher slope, a “sit(t)er(t)”, hence the name “Sittard”.
Around the year 1000, the settlement consisted of the fortified house of the lord, located on a "motte" (an artificial hill), an outer bailey that was actually a farm and the settlement itself with a few houses around a church. All three were provided with a palisade and surrounded by a moat. The fortified house, the “Huis op de Berg”, was later built on the site of the motte.
The road that crossed the Geleenbeek then made a kink. This was to literally “control” the traffic on this road. The current Oude Markt was part of that route to and from the Rhineland and – given the name – was also the place where the market was held after the first settlement had expanded into an oval-shaped town in the 12th century.
The house for Mr van Sittard was located where the oldest part of the former Ursuline convent is now located, on the Oude Markt. The old name “House on the Mountain” indicates that the house was built on an elevation. This was probably the motte under the residential tower, an artificial mound created by the raising of soil from the digging of the moat around it. The motte was bordered by an outer bailey where the economy buildings were located, consisting of a farm where the staff lived, stables and workshops. This outer bailey, located on the site of the current Kloosterplein, was also surrounded by a moat. These canals were fed by the nearby Geleenbeek. Parts of these canals have been found in various places during excavations in the city centre, including during the construction of the archive cellar behind Museum Het Domein.
The fortified house or residential tower was later located on the edge of the enlarged fortified town. This was done for security reasons. When the population turned against the ruler, retreat was always possible. The road also makes a right angle bend here to prevent a possible direct storm attack.
In the 16th century we find the house on the list of tax assessments, which shows that it was one of the largest houses in Sittard. The house was destroyed during the Eighty Years' War. Rentmeester Johannes Maes bought the site and built a very spacious house in Maasland style for that time, with hard stone cross windows and marl moldings. It had spacious rooms on the ground floor with two floors above. There was a large square in front of the house. This was closed on the street side by a high wall in which there was an entrance gate. To the right of the gate was a small porter's house.
The house has also known noble residents, including the De Bentinck family, who also owned Limbricht Castle. The last noble resident was Adelaïde de Reibeld, daughter of “'t barönke aan de Wal”. After her divorce, her assets were sold.
Commissioned by the Sittard dean Vrancken, the house was purchased with the intention of furnishing the building as a convent for the Ursulines. The renovation was completed in 1843 and the first six Ursulines came from Thildonk in Belgium, who took up residence in the new monastery and “House on the Mountain” was henceforth called “Cloître du Saint-Calvaire”. The sisters founded several schools for girls: a kindergarten, a primary school, a secondary school and a girls' boarding school.
After the departure of the Ursulines, the convent and the boarding school were renovated and taken into use in 1979 by the Hogeschool Katholieke Leergangen Sittard. Today, a luxury hotel and apartment complex is located here.
