basilica of our lady (onze lieve vrouwebasiliek)

50LindaG

"do not go by without uttering a prayer" the words over the entrance to the grotto of Our Lady Star of the Sea, patroness of Maastricht.

Fotos82

This church has amazed me with the simplicity (in positive meaning) of it's Roman style. The entry is hard to miss with Our Lady's shiny altar behind a glass wall. (Here you can light a candle, prices (as of 31 January 2015: small candle 0,5 EUR, big candle 0,9 EUR.) Inside the church is personal and comforting.The basilica is easy to be find in Maastricht, tourist direction boards guide you there from all corner's of the historical city centre. There're a couple of café's located on the square outside of the church.

TPietscher

This church never fails to amaze me, inside is really dark and you really feel you were taken to another time and place after you cross the doors. The entry is already hard to miss with a very shiny altar behind a glass wall and a special prayer.

869emilyv

I visited this church to light a candle in rememberence of my mother while traveling. Although many tourists go there, it was remarkably personal and comforting. This church opens to an outdoor place to have coffee, lunch, etc. you can walk everywhere from there. Very enjoyable.

donnah701

Taken here by local friends, who felt it was important for me to see this site, and I must agree. One of the two is amatuer historian, and he was very excited and proud of the original Roman facade on one side of the church. It is unique since most others are no longer standing. The rest of the church was built later, but that Roman wall has been protected and restored for centuries. My favorite part was the beautiful shrine to Virgin Mary, very special. It is a place where there is a exquisite statue of Mary and the Holy Infant, very elaborate in the Catholic style and protected by glass from the elements and the constant stream of visitors. You may buy and light a candle, and there is a traditional prayer posted in several languages for those of us not Catholic. For those who are Catholic, weekly English Mass every Saturday at 17.00 hoursThis was a beautiful and memorable site, and lighting a candle for a loved one felt wonderful.

johnmV7434UL

This old church, its square and its proximity to the roman ruins and the old city wall make it one of the best places in Maastricht. It is a local gathering place and has great atmosphere.

136MC136

Nice church from a touristic point of view, easy to find location and not far at all, can easily get more points if it had- clear signs to the entry door, it was just a door without any signboard!!!- the entry to the touristic exhibition opens late compared to other places (midday), without any info about that in English. However the staff were very helpful and tried their best to translate or communicate the important information.

ogarem

Nice, Solemn place! Very beautiful if the lights are on. Quiet corners where you can pray or reflect

IgorZet

This is one of the most unusual in the architectural point of view churches I ever visited. An extremely rare Romanesque fortress style church. Worth to visit

919timothys

This basilica is very simple. You can find the beauty of the interior. However, in my opinion, it does not have much to show. A short visit of 1 hour for the maximum is enough.

WestSaxon

We only had a brief visit to this church as we were passing through the square to another location. I had been told that the candles were worth seeing so we called in and, yes, it is an impressive sight. It was quite a warm day and, usually, going into an old building the temperature drops - not here! The sheer number of burning candles makes it "cosy" to put it mildly. Even if you are just passing by as we were, I think it's well worth a look in.

monijeek

We have visited most of churches and buildings in Maastricht. The Basilica of our Lady is less renovated than the St.Servatius an more authentic. What I detest forever, for the St.Servatius you have to pay sn entry fee. No go.

allettaf

First Romanic church I was in. You can tell from the way it's built that it has taken a while to finish: two different building styles! They started building 1000 years ago. I know it's a well known candle lighting place, and true, that part is astoundingly beautiful, but go on in and have a look. Sit down to get a feel of the place. Imagine the lights are candles. Welcome in the Middle Ages! It's dark and a bit eerie. That's just how things were then! They hadn't yet figured out to build the lighter Gothic style churches we see a lot more because they're a few hundred years younger!For me, that's the most fascinating part of this church. It's that old, and people still find peace in it like they did in the late Middle Ages!

Glibber

This church is devoted to Mary. Even for agnostics like myself lighting a candle here is a joy. Don't bother the glass windows or the stations of the cross

Batavicus

This is a leafy square with lots of cafes and an 800-year-old church that provides an fine example of Meuse Valley (or Maasland) architecture.