The horse stables within the abbey farm complex of Herkenrode were built in the second half of the 17th century, a period in which the abbey had to recover from the turbulent years of the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648). The abbey flourished again from 1653 under the rule of abbess Anna Catharina de Lamboy. A revival that was expressed in a major construction campaign. For proper management, she had all the properties of the abbey mapped out by surveyor Peter Meysman from Lebbeke. His survey plan is the oldest iconographic source for the horse stables.
The horse stables did not connect to the U-shaped abbey farm and the farmyard, but stood between the farm and the actual abbey buildings. They were located along the road that led from the gatehouse to the abbess' residence. Together with the monastery wall, the horse stables closed off the southern part of the farm complex. The eastern facade of the stables was built against an old dividing wall of the monastery, which ran from the stable towards the church. The stables were also connected by road to the abbey farm, the servants' house, the tenant's house, the stables and the tithe barn.
The location of the stables was well planned. After the visitor had passed through the gatehouse, he could take a beautiful drive to enter the domain of the abbess and the ladies via a monumental gate in the dividing wall. The stables were used as shelter for the horses of the abbess, the ladies and their visitors. The carriages were parked in the coach houses on the abbey farm. It is difficult to determine whether there was a place to live in the stables for any grooms. Presumably they stayed like the other workers in the building intended for craftsmen in the craft zone between the brewery and the fishermen's and tanners' building. It is also possible that the servants slept in a small sleeping place, close to the horses.
It is striking that the stables were relatively richly constructed despite their function. The stables originally consisted of a single building with one floor and nine bays under a curved saddle roof. The outer walls were decorated with S-shaped anchors and the side walls with eaves, braiding, top and shoulder pieces. Brick and natural stone (marl and limestone) were the main building materials. The walls were red-washed on both the outside and the inside. The northern facade looked more like a house than a stable. The stable is thus a witness to the wealth of the abbey in this period. The appearance of the stables changed considerably during the 19th century.
The French Revolution in 1789 heralded the end of the power and wealth of the Cistercian nuns at Herkenrode. Within the anti-religious policy of the French, there was no longer any place for nobility and clergy. The sisters at Herkenrode fled across the Rhine or joined another community (for example the Beguines). They watched with dismay as others took over the abbey and abused it. Their goods were confiscated by the French authorities. On 19 February 1797, Herkenrode was finally auctioned during a public sale in Maastricht.
On 5 December 1974, the entire site was protected as a monument and as a historical landscape by Royal Decree. The Sisters of the Holy Sepulchre moved into the abbess quarters and for a number of years now, the remaining buildings of the abbey have been restored to their former glory.