Boekhandel Dominicanen Maastricht met links de boekenflat

Bookstore Dominicanen Maastricht

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"From Bike Shed to Book Temple"

In December 2006, a bookstore was established in the Dominican Church for the first time. The bookstore started as part of Boekhandelsgroep Nederland under the name Selexyz Dominicanen and later Polare.

After Polare's bankruptcy, a restart was made in March 2014. Since 2014, the bookstore has been independent and bears the name: Boekhandel Dominicanen. At Boekhandel Dominicanen, you will find a beautiful assortment of books, from children's books to art, from literature to Limburgensia, and from law to travel. Moreover, on the first floor, you will find a full-fledged music department with an extensive selection of CDs and vinyl.

In the former priest choir of the Dominican Church, you will find the renowned Blanche Dael Coffeelovers. The choir is also the cultural stage of Boekhandel Dominicanen. Weekly, activities such as book signings, debates, lectures, interviews, and musical performances take place here, always with a nod to what we love so much: The book.

History

The 13th-century Dominican Church in Maastricht, the first Gothic church in the Low Countries, is a remarkable building, not only for its unique history (consider the many functions the building has served), but also for its ceiling and wall paintings, which are of exceptional art historical value.

In 1261, the Dominicans were granted permission to establish a monastery in Maastricht. They built a monastery and church on the site where the Entre Deux shopping center is now located, and remained in the old city of Maastricht for five centuries. On November 4, 1794, the French army captured the city, and in 1795, it was annexed by the French Republic. This marked the end of the history of this religious mendicant order in Maastricht. The church was used as a stable by the French cavalry.

In the two centuries that followed, the building served, among other things, as a warehouse for the city, concert hall, car showroom, slaughterhouse, snake house, boxing arena, bicycle storage, and (children's) carnival venue. Many people from Maastricht remember it as the place where they first kissed.

In 2006, the Dominican Church found its new purpose as a quality bookstore. The architectural firm Merkx + Girod designed and oversaw, after the extensive restoration of the monument, the interior of the bookstore with 1200m2 of retail space, while only 850m2 of floor space was available. The architects wanted to emphasize the height and space of Gothic architecture. They saw the solution in a monumental walk-in bookcase with multiple floors, asymmetrically placed in the church. Visitors are led to the top floor of this "steel book skyscraper." Climbing it has been turned into an experience and a journey of discovery.

Paintings

In the ceiling vaults of the church, there are ancient frescoes, some heavily damaged. The restorers from the Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (SRAL) therefore paid close attention to the consolidation and restoration of the paintings, sparing no effort to preserve them for Maastricht. The ceiling paintings in the Dominican Church are of exceptional quality for this part of Europe. Most of the paintings are by the hand of Jan Vassens and were applied around 1619.

In the church, there is a wall painting (secco) depicting Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274), dating back to 1337. This is not only the oldest ecclesiastical wall painting in the Netherlands but also the oldest depiction of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Europe. It is also the oldest painting where a realistic, three-dimensional space (perspective) is suggested using pictorial means. In the Low Countries, no wall or panel painting of similar style and refined quality from this early period has been preserved!

Fresco's

For centuries, the painting was covered with layers of white lime. In the 19th century, Victor de Stuers, a young man of 22 years old, carefully removed the lime layers to reveal the painting. He documented his "discovery" and captured it through drawings and paintings so that we still have access to what he saw back then.

The Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (SRAL) undertook the restoration of this very special secco. After meticulous cleaning, consolidating loose parts, and applying a saturating layer, refined details of the depiction can once again be admired.

However, we must accept that the painting is only fragmentarily present and could not be fully restored to its former glory.

Since the completion of the restoration of this secco, the Dominican Church, along with the seventeenth-century ceiling paintings, has become richer with a treasure trove of art of the highest order. It completes Maastricht's new attraction and places it in a splendid historical context.

The restoration of the painting was made possible by the Municipality of Maastricht, the Province of Limburg, Satijn Plus Architects, and the Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (SRAL).

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