Hille’s Goatriders forum: Keeping a Limburg legend alive

Far away in the cold and northern province of Friesland, a 22 year-old young Dutch woman by the superb name of Hille Morel van Mourik is passionately dedicating her free time to unravelling the mystery of the Limburg Goatriders.

Hille will certainly laugh when she reads this, but when I first visited the Goatriders forum she set up a little more than a year ago in December 2006, I was convinced that she was a middle-aged man. First of all, how was I to know that Hille was a female name? Secondly, and much to my shame, I had stereotypically assumed that only a man could possess the technical skills to create and manage such a vast and sophisticated internet forum. Thirdly, I somehow thought that a story about spooky robber bands was more likely to attract a man than a woman. And finally, Hille’s icon on the forum portrays an elegant looking gentleman… So beware! When you start dealing with the Goatriders, things are not always the way they seem…

It is fascinating to see how an 18th century Limburg story still captivates people’s minds till this day. Like most people living outside of Limburg and most of the members of her forum, it is after watching a popular television series called “De Legende van de Bokkenrijders” (“The legend of the Goatriders”) that Hille first became interested in the subject. Her initial goal when she started the forum was in fact to discover and share information exclusively about the series: actors, filming locations, memorable quotes, favourite scenes…

A glimpse into the Goatriders television series

Soon later however Hille added a “History” section, to satisfy the need of members and visitors who were more curious about the historical aspects of the story. People looking for genuine Goatriders among their ancestors started participating in the forum as well.

An appealing legend
“I never thought that I would get so caught up in the subject,” Hille confesses, explaining that the Goatriders story has made her “want to know all about the history and the beautiful surroundings of Limburg.”

“The link with the caves is especially compelling,” she says, “and I’m also interested in the persecution of the Goatriders, even if it happened in a horrendous way”.

Hille now shares her passion with about 130 other members and is happy to see new fans registering “practically every day.” Although many forum members live in Limburg, some of them come from the provinces of Brabant, Utrecht, Overijssel, Drenthe and Groningen. The forum also attracts Belgian and German visitors, which can be explained by the fact that the Goatriders are said to have been active in a wide a territory that went beyond the current Dutch borders, further into Belgian Limburg and the German area around Herzogenrath. “And we even have someone from Sweden!” says Hille proudly.

Some members are young, under 18, but many are older than 25, sometimes even much older. “But the older they are, the more likely it is that they are men,” notes Hille.

Forum visitors try to identify historical locations connected to the Limburg robber bands who later inspired the legend of the Goatriders. They inquire about touristic activities such as bicycle trips or country walks based on the theme of the Goatriders. They also enjoy exchanging information and posting photographs of Goatriders statues or restaurants, clubs or other types of organisations using the name of the Goatriders.

Popular television series
The most active section of the forum however is the one devoted to the popular series which was first broadcast on Dutch television in 1994 and is now available on dvd. The series is a Dutch/Belgian/German/French co-production based on the novel “De Bende van de Bokkenrijders” (”The Goatriders band“) by Limburg author Ton van Reen. It tells the adventures of a young peasant who becomes acquainted with the Goatriders band through their leader, the mysterious Black Captain. Naturally, the Black Captain turns out to be none other than the kind and handsome local physician, whose main goal is in fact to protect the poor peasants from the greed and cruelty of the clergy and nobility.

It is worth noting that the character of the physician in the series was inspired by the true historical figure of a certain Dr Joseph Kirchhoffs from Kerkrade, who was hanged in 1772 on suspicion of being a band leader. The trial archives report however that Dr Kirchhoffs denied the accusation until his last breath.

Many forum members spend a lot of time discussing various aspects of the series, and some of them are even busy writing a sequel… As for Hille, one of her hobbies is to produce short video clips featuring her favourite scenes. One of her films deals with the potentially amorous relationship between the brave physician, who is also called Dr Kirchhoffs in the series, with the beautiful Anna Swinkels who knows his secret and helps him on many occasions.

Dr Kirchhoffs and Anna Swinkels

There is a friendly atmosphere on Hille’s forum. Members are serious about sharing information but this doesn’t prevent them from having fun and making occasional jokes. Some of them like to hide their true identity behind mysterious names like “Secret” or “Black Captain,” and many female members, including Hille herself, partake in hilarious exchanges about some of the actors who appeared in the television series, and whom they used to be secretly in love with at a younger age.

The section of the forum where members discuss the series’ influence in their daily lives is very revealing of the story’s appeal. Member “Black Captain” says that after watching the series, he/she would pronounce the letter “g” with the “soft” Limburg accent, use the Goatriders sign to say good bye, utter mysterious proverbs from the series at school, and imitate the cavernous voice of the Black Captain in public places.

On the trail of the Goatriders
Hille is aware that “the true Goatriders were most probably some sort of bandits.” “And maybe they did form secret bands, in order not to get caught,” she admits.

Hille explains further: “They probably had to steal out of necessity, because people in those times were very poor and had to find other ways to survive… Incidentally, the name “Goatriders” is very intriguing, because they obviously didn’t fly! When I think about the Goatriders, I don’t think of them as criminals or murderers, but rather as some type of Robin Hoods, like in the television series… I am more attracted by the mysterious aspects of their story.”

One day Hille hopes to organise a Goatriders event – “maybe a one-day or several-day trip” – which would consist of visits to some of the most striking locations featured in the television series, and perhaps a walk in Valkenburg, focusing more specifically on the historical aspects of the story. Unfortunately, “this kind of trip is very complex to organise,” Hille regrets, “because it costs money and it is difficult to make it fit into everyone’s busy agenda and to decide what to see in such a short time.”

Besides the forum, Hille has created a Goatriders startpage where she collects all the links she has come across about the subject. Both websites are precious sources of information for all those who want to learn more about the Goatriders.

“There is no museum about the Goatriders in the Netherlands,” Hille explains. “We can find some Goatriders monuments in certain places, but they don’t give any additional information. There was a project in Belgium some time ago to produce a new documentary about the Goatriders, but it was stopped due to lack of funds…”

The good news however is that a new dvd of the television series has just been released in Germany and Hille hopes that this will bring more German visitors to her forum. She has already acquired the German dvd, entitled “Die Bockreiter“, because “unlike the Dutch version, it features some extra’s.”

An important event to look forward to is a special Goatriders exhibition in 2010 at Hoensbroek Castle.

In the meantime, still in her northern lands, Hille is helping to keep the Limburg legend alive, because in her eyes “those who don’t know about the Goatriders definitely miss a fascinating chapter of our culture and history.”

“It is a legend that we can still relate to.”

By Sueli Brodin
Crossroads editor

Acknowledgements:
Special thanks to Hille Morel van Mourik, who allowed me to use her video clips and some screenshots from her forum.

The Black Captain of the Goatriders

Related article:

The ‘Bokkenrijders’: Ghost riders in the Limburg sky

More information:

Goatriders forum

Goatriders startpage

Hille’s surroundings in Friesland