‘t Paeterke, by Ger Janssen.
On Venlo’s Dominicanenplein stands ’t Paeterke—the Little Father—a bronze sculpture by local artist Ger Janssen. It honours the Dominican friars who lived here from 1892 until the early 21st century, first in the Trans-Cedron monastery and later beside the Kloosterkapel Mariaweide.
The chapel’s roots reach back to the early 15th century. Over the centuries it served as a beguine chapel, a pipe factory, a warehouse, even a carpentry shop, before war damage in WWII led to a major 1950s restoration. Today, it lives on as Domani, a vibrant cultural venue.
Janssen, known for capturing human expression in bronze, portrays the friar with quiet dignity—linking the square’s present to its monastic past. The Dominicanenplein itself emerged only in the late 20th century, when the city made the adjacent medieval Nieuwstraat car-free, creating a calm space where history still lingers.
