Basilica of Our Lady | |
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Basic information | |
Location | Maastricht, Netherlands |
Geographic coordinates | 50°50′51″N 5°41′37″E / 50.84750°N 5.69361°ECoordinates: 50°50′51″N 5°41′37″E / 50.84750°N 5.69361°E |
Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
Country | Netherlands |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Minor basilica |
Heritage designation | Rijksmonument 27454 |
Website | www |
Architectural description | |
Architectural type | Basilica with transept and pseudo-transepts |
Architectural style | Romanesque |
The Basilica of Our Lady (Dutch: Basiliek van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw; Limburgish/Maastrichtian [colloquial]: Slevrouwe) is a Romanesque church in the historic center of Maastricht, Netherlands. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption (Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Tenhemelopneming) and is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Diocese of Roermond. The church is often referred to as the Star of the Sea (Dutch: Sterre der Zee), after the church's main devotion, Our Lady, Star of the Sea.
The present-day church is probably not the first church that was built on this site. However, since no archeological research has ever been carried out inside the building, nothing certain can be said about this. The church's site, inside the Roman castrum and adjacent to a religious shrine dedicated to the god Jupiter, suggests that the site was once occupied by a Roman temple. It is not unlikely that the town's first church was built here and that this church in the 4th or 5th century became the cathedral of the diocese of Tongeren-Maastricht.