Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk / Church of Our Lady, Maastricht

Star of the sea is another name for Mary. This old statue sits in its own chapel beside the Onze Lieve Vrouwe Basilica.
Many people in Maastricht visit it to burn a candle and pray.
So many in fact that sometimes people have to queue.

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I'm not really a church person but I do appreciate the historical relevance of a place's ecclesiastical buildings and the Church of Our Lady is a particularly interesting one. There has been a church on this site since the 4th century AD although the oldest parts of the current structure date from the 9th century. The building has been added to several times over the course of the last thousand or so years which when wandering around (outside and in) sort of traces the city's history.

Although this is a Catholic place of worship the church attracts a multi-denominational group of worshippers, as well as us tourists, and is dedicated to seafarers of all nationalities and creeds.

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This is a very imposing old church to say the least. It dates back to the 11th century and is situated on a lovely leafy square not far from the Market Place and Town Hall. When the main body of the church is closed to visitors, it is still possible to visit the altar of Our Lady which is housed in its own little side chapel section off the square. Here one can say a prayer and light a candle. It is really quite beautiful..

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The interior of the Church of Our Lady has got three naves. The choir is covered golded figures. The capitals are covered with frescos.
Very interesting is also the cloister built in the half of the 14th century: nowdays there you can visit the Schatkamer (Treasure Room).

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Onze Lieve Vrouwebasiliek (Church of Our Lady, in English) is a masterpiece of the Dutch Romanesque architecture. Its construction began in the 10th century with the tall wall without windows in the square in front of the church. On the its sides there are two circular tower built in the same years of the central part. Durig the 13th and 14th century the church was finished with an apse and two small tower in the back side of the building.

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Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk - Maastricht's Church of Our Lady

Sadly the main part of this church was behind scaffolding and I hadnt realised what an unusual building it was. Next door and with open access was a small candlit chapel where one could sit and pray, light a candle or contemplate on the world in an air of peace. It was very dark, save for the many small candles burning, but nevertheless one could make out the paintings and the statue of the Madonna.

I'm glad I stopped by. Another man who was sitting quietly didn't even notice me.

The main building looks fascinating and I wish I'd explored it more thoroughly. Maybe a good reason to return - especially when the building/maintenance work has been completed.

In the Chapel of Our Lady, visitors can light candles as in most Catholic churches. There are also small boxes in the walls for gifts (money), each stating a different goal/reason for offering. One of the first boxes on the right bears the legend "Voor verkregen gunsten", which means "For received favours".

It feels good to express gratitude for being able to travel to beautiful places with loved ones. So whenever I'm in Maastricht, I drop some money in this particular box. It helps me remember how fortunate we are.

Once we were inside we were a bit confused where we were and its exact historical magnificence was. This because several changes in have been made to the church, mostly in the form of new additions to the old church. The church's current main entrance is, for example, in a Gothic style giving the impression that it's a completely different building. Behind the entrance is a Gothic baptistery from the 15th century. In the 16th century the church was expanded with a Gothic archway which surrounds a courtyard. But it's also so dark in there, rather typical for these Romanesque churches with their small windows.

But anyway, we kept on walking and found the Treasure House where we admired many ecclesiastical crafts, embroidered copes, reliquaries, procession banners, church silver and many more. In our opinion this church monumental simplicity it is unique in the Netherlands. Once back outside don’t forget to the intimate green square named 'Onze Lieve Vrouweplein' with lots of terraces of the surrounding cafes for the necessary refreshments!