In the Frisian village of Sint-Nicolaasga, next to the renowned St Nicholas Church from 1887, at Kerkstraat number 14, lies the Lourdes grotto in the presbytery garden.
The Frisian Lourdes Grotto is a replica of the Grotto in French Lourdes and was built in 1935. This Marian grotto is a national monument. The Lourdes Grotto was created by Huite Huitema and some carpenters, in consultation with pastor Joannes Bentla. The structure is made of reinforced concrete. The dimensions of the grotto are 12 metres wide, 8 metres deep, and 7 metres high. It is a true copy of the Grotto in Lourdes, on a 1:10 scale. A wrought-iron gate has been placed in front of the grotto, with Latin crosses on the main uprights. In a niche, in the upper right of the grotto, the statue of Mary stands at a height of approximately 3 metres. Above Mary is a halo with the words “I am the Immaculate Conception”. Next to the grotto is a depiction of a kneeling Bernadette, the visionary at Lourdes in 1858. The Lourdes Grotto was restored in 1982.
There are several stories regarding the reason for its construction. One tells that the reason for building the grotto was a pilgrimage by Huite Huitema. In 1933, this farmer's son made a trip to Lourdes and returned miraculously healed, his disability having vanished. Under the commission of Father Johannes Gerardus Bentla, a great devotee of Mary, Huite Huitema designed the grotto. Johannes Bentla served as parish priest in Sint-Nicolaasga from 1917 to 1937. The priest consecrated the grotto in 1935. This took place on February 11th, the anniversary of the first apparition of Mary to Bernadette in Lourdes in 1858. Another story suggests that Huitema had the grotto built as reimbursement for the money he received from the church to travel to Lourdes with his ailing wife to seek her cure. A third story concerns the Sisters of Our Lady of Amersfoort. In 1931, the convent complex “Our Lady of Lourdes” was built in Sint-Nicolaasga, not far from the church. This convent is located close to the current Lourdes Grotto. The sisters from the convent urged the construction of the Lourdes Grotto.
Sint-Nicolaasga is also known as “the Lourdes of the North” because of its grotto.
The Lourdes grotto is a protected monument. After visiting many Lourdes grottoes, the grotto in Sint-Nicolaasga is one of the most beautiful Marian grottoes in the Netherlands.
