Monastery church Exterior The Maastricht Crosier Church is a spireless, three-, or rather two-
aisled monastery church (the south aisle is a pseudo-aisle). It was built between 1440 and 1509 in the local Mosan
Gothic style, using local yellow
limestone (
Limburgse mergel) on a plinth of
bluestone from Namur (
Naamse steen). The roofs are covered with sheets of
slate. The architecture is similar to that of other Gothic monastery churches in the Mosan region, like the
Dominican and
Minorite churches in Maastricht, which however are two centuries older. The west façade features a (secondary) entrance, as well as a large and a small window, both with
pointed arches. The windows had been bricked up in the 19th century but were fitted out with new
tracery and colourless
leaded glass in the early 20th century. The bluestone
finial at the top of the west gable was replaced with a copy around 2004 (the original finial stands in a hotel corridor). The north aisle as well as the north
clerestory have five windows, with
buttresses in between. The window above the main entrance is blind. The modern entrance by Ingo Maurer has the shape of a tunnel made of copper. The
choir has the same height as the
nave. Five bricked-up windows of the
apse, like the west windows, were reopened and reglazed in the early 20th century. The windows of the choir bays, between the apse and the nave, are blind. Most of the south (pseudo-)aisle is hidden from sight behind the cloisters. Three clerestory windows can be detected from the cloister yard File:2017 Maastricht, Kruisherenkerk 03.jpg|West façade File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, noordgevel 01.jpg|North façade and entrance File:Ingang Kruisherenkerk Rijksmonument 27253.JPG|Modern entrance tunnel File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, koor 02.jpg|Choir from the south-east
Interior The length of the church (nave plus choir) is ca. 42.6 m (inside measurements); the choir measures 18.1 m and the nave 24.5 m. The total width of nave and aisles is ca. 17 m; the nave by itself 10 m. Both choir and nave are 14.85 m high, the aisles are lower. The choir consists of two
bays and a seven-sided
apse. Five tall apse windows with colourless glass make the space very light. The nave consists of five bays and has
net vaulting, probably dating from shortly after 1579 (see 'History' above). The connection between the choir vaults and the nave is far from seamless and still very much visible. Only the north aisle is a full aisle, 4.5 m wide and 7.7 m high. The pillars between the aisle and nave are of Namur stone. The south aisle is a pseudo-aisle. It is only 2.4 m wide and consists of five side chapels that were built between the buttresses. Three of these chapels are still recognizable as such, the others have been walled off and are now part of the cloisters. In order to create more usable space for the hotel, two
mezzanines were constructed inside the church in 2003–05. The larger mezzanine runs parallel with the nave and part of the choir. It is connected to other parts of the hotel by glass walkways and elevators. On top is a restaurant seating 85. Below is a
wine bar and a glass '
wine cellar'. The smaller mezzanine fills the north aisle. It has a reading room on top and lavatories and offices below. An egg-shaped office designed by Ingo Maurer is near the west entrance. All this can be removed without permanent damage to the building. The south-west chapel contains a large mural, most likely from the second quarter of the 16th century. The main depiction portrays eight scenes from the life of
Saint Gertrude: six within a pointed arch on the south wall of the chapel; the other two (originally four?) on the side walls. Depicted are: the birth of Gertrude, the taking of the vows, a bishop consecrating
Nivelles Abbey, Gertrude saving a house on fire, and Gertrude saving a ship in a storm. The mural on the west wall shows "Saint Gertrude's love drink" (
Sint-Geerteminnedronk), the ancient custom to drink to a healthy homecoming of someone who is undertaking a long journey. Saint Gertrude is the
patron saint of travellers. File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, koorgewelf 1.jpg|Painted choir vaults with floral motives File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, koorgewelf 4.jpg|Painted keystone and rib vaulting File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, zuidelijke zijkapel, St-Gertrudisschildering 01.jpg|West chapel with Saint Gertrude mural File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, zuidelijke zijkapel, St-Gertrudisschildering 04.jpg|Detail mural with "Saint Gertrude's love drink"
Sculptures Both the
architectural sculpture in the church and the sculptural fragments that were recovered in 1913 from underneath the church floor, testify of a rich artistic tradition. The massive late-Gothic
capitals that adorn the composite columns between the nave and the north aisle, are impressive both in size and skill. The rib vaults are decorated with sculpted
keystones and
corbels. Beautifully detailed are the four corbels with the
evangelists' symbols. Two Baroque altars have been preserved in the south chapels. They are of local limestone with
stucco decorations in
Louis Quatorze style. Two interesting
reliefs decorate the north and south wall of the choir. The smaller one on the north wall depicts a heart that is pierced by a sword with two hands folded in prayer below. Inside the heart the letters
IHS (Jesus) and MA (Mary) have been carved; above it the date 1595. This might be an
epitaph that was removed from elsewhere. The larger relief on the opposite wall consists of four vertically arranged parts, partly damaged by a 19th-century mezzanine floor. It probably refers to a
Vidimus (
Latin: "we have seen") of 1482, in which the dean of St. Servatius confirmed a privilege of
Pope John XXII of 1318, allowing the Crosiers to celebrate mass, collect money, etc. The
papal tiara and Saint Peter's
Keys of Heaven are clearly recognizable. Above and below are depictions of the coat of arms of the Crosiers and what looks like a
sundial or an
astrological chart. These may not be related to the central reliefs. The bottom drawing may be connected to prior Mathias Mijnecom who was known as "Astronomas" because of his knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, koorconsole 2a.jpg|Choir corbel with bull's head (Saint Luke) File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, zuidelijke zijkapel, altaar 2.jpg|Baroque altar with stucco decorations, ca. 1700 File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, reliëf 1.jpg|Relief with pierced heart and praying hands, 1595 File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, reliëf 3.jpg|Papal relief with tiara and keys of heaven, 1482?
Ledger stones Around ten
ledger stones remain in the church, all of
laypersons. For the
burghers of Maastricht the Crosier Church obviously was a popular place to be buried. It is remarkable that no graves of friars or other
clergy have survived. Burials of friars in the church are mentioned in the monastery archive. It is also known that the
Jesuit preacher Hendrik Denijs was buried in the choir of the church in 1571, and that three years later the dean of St. Servatius', Nicolaas van der Straeten, was buried in the same grave. None of the remaining ledger stones are in their original location. Some were moved to the cloisters (see below); others were most likely destroyed in the 19th century. Some ledger stones were used twice, as was the case with the damaged stone that originally covered the grave of
jonker Gerard van der Marck and his wife in 1482. It was reused for Art Proenen and his wife in 1618. The ledger stone of Elisabeth and Vaes Nuellens from 1510 is decorated with the Lamb of God and the Four Evangelists' symbols in the corners. A large sculpted ledger stone was moved to one of the chapels during the early-20th-century restorations. The stone from 1605 once covered the grave of mayor and
schepen Johan Sdrogen and his wife Verona Weertz. Against a wall in the south-east chapel stands a ledger stone of 1639 with the damaged coat of arms of Lysbeth Coenegracht, widow of Herman Jekermans. Leaning against the wall of the north aisle are three ledger stones that were moved here from elsewhere. They are visible only through the glass back wall in the toilets. The 16th-century stone of mayor Mathijs Nollens's family is very worn. Next to this is a 17th-century stone with the coats of arms of the families Meesters and Selen. The third stone along this wall also dates from the 17th century and was part of the grave of mayor Andries van Stockhem and his wife Catharine. File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, grafzerk noordmuur schip 2.jpg|Ledger stones of 1580 & 1633 File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, grafzerk zuidelijke zijkapel 2.jpg|Ledger stone of 1639 File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, grafzerk zuidelijke zijkapel 1.jpg|Detail ledger stone, ca. 1650 File:2017 Kruisherenkerk, grafzerk zuidelijke zijkapel 3.jpg|Ledger stone of 1740
Monastery wings Outer walls The four wings of the monastery make the shape of an imperfect square between the streets Kruisherengang and Kommel. The north wing runs parallel to the south aisle of the church and for that reason is not visible from the street. The east wing overlooks Kommel, a street that at this point has the appearance of a square. In 2009 it was redesigned as a park with trees,
box hedges, flower beds and cobbled paths. A bronze sculpture of a horse (
Julius Solway, Arthur Spronken, 1982) was relocated in front of the hotel, also in 2009. The south wing is visible only from a secluded garden between the monastery and a row of houses along Kommel. Both the south wing and the west wing end in a
stepped gable. The outer walls are largely built with local limestone (
mergel) with incidental use of
brick, sometimes in alternating bands with limestone. The lower part of the west wing was replaced in 1928 by Nivelstein
sandstone, which is harder. Pointed Gothic windows, partly dating from the 15th century, appear on the ground floor of the south and east wing, and in the stepped gables. Elsewhere 16th-century rectangular windows with stone
frames and
muntins and wooden
window shutters predominate. The shutters, including those of the
dormers with their
tented roofs, are painted red and white, the colours of the Crosiers' cross. The entrances in the outer walls of the south and west wings have
pediments with the Crosiers' cross. Above a door in the east wing is a
lintel with the name of the agricultural testing station (
Rijkslandbouwproefstation) in
blackletters. File:Statue and the ancient Monastry building of Kruisheren Hotel Maastricht - panoramio.jpg|East wing and Kommel File:2017 Kruisherenklooster, zuidgevel 03.jpg|South-west stepped gable File:2017 Maastricht, Kruisherenklooster 09.jpg|Renaissance windows File:2017 Maastricht, Kruisherenklooster 07.jpg|Pedimented west entrance
Cloister yard The
cloister yard is a
quadrangle that is not entirely square, surrounded by four monastery wings. The lower Gothic windows on this side were probably once open; they were (re)glazed in the 19th century. Gothic windows also appear in the upper floor of the south wing; the lower windows in this wing are wider than elsewhere. Also, the south wing features a centrally-placed one-storey outbuilding with a
hip roof that protrudes into the cloister yard. As is the case with the street-facing façades, brightly coloured window shutters decorate the Renaissance windows around the cloister yard. A light sculpture by Ingo Maurer in the shape of an illuminated vertical column filled with 3000 litres of water with silver dust has been temporarily removed because of malfunctioning. File:2017 Kruisherenklooster, pandhof, zuidwesthoek.jpg|View from above File:2017 Kruisherenklooster, pandhof, zuidvleugel, gotische vensters.jpg|Gothic windows south wing File:2017 Kruisherenklooster, pandhof en oostvleugel.jpg|East wing File:Kruisherenhotel Maastricht, light sculptures by Ingo Maurer in former cloister yard - panoramio.jpg|Light sculpture by Maurer
Interior The monastery wings consist of a ground floor and two floors above, of which the upper floor is directly underneath the roof. Parts of the building are furnished with cellars that have
barrel vaults. Surrounding the cloister yard are the cloister corridors. The leaded glass windows date from the late 19th century and were possibly designed in the studios of
Pierre Cuypers in
Roermond. The ceilings are supported by beams with profiled corbels, which are all painted white. The tiled floors were renewed in 2004. The north corridor is narrower because it is adjacent to the church. The other corridors provide access to rooms that have windows looking out onto the street. The protruding section of the south corridor contains a
lavabo (including a
hand pump until the late 20th century). Another ledger stone has been placed against the north wall of the north corridor. It dates from 1624 when both Thomas Ulrich and his wife Anna were buried underneath it. The public spaces and rooms of the Kruisherenhotel – fifty in the main building and ten in the Renaissance House and Casa Nova (see below) – were individually conceived by interior architect Henk Vos, who made use of furniture and lighting designs by
Le Corbusier,
Philip Starck,
Marc Newson, Ingo Maurer and others. File:2017 Kruisherenklooster, kloostergang west 03.jpg|Cloisters, west corridor File:2017 Kruisherenklooster, kloostergang zuid, lavabo.jpg|Lavabo and ledger stone File:2017 Kruisherenklooster, kloostergang, 2e etage.jpg|Attic floor, corridor File:Kruisherenhotel, hotel room 1.jpg|South wing, hotel room
Other buildings The Crosier Monastery in Maastricht is unique in the Netherlands as it has been preserved in its original state almost completely. Some minor parts have not survived. As late as 1962, a 17th-century gateway with the Crosiers' coat of arms was demolished. Along Kommel there are some small houses (all
Rijksmonuments) that may or may not have been part of the monastery. They are privately owned and not part of the hotel. Adjacent to this row of houses are two buildings that are now part of the Kruisherenhotel. The 17th-century building on the south-west corner is known as "Renaissance House" (Kruisherengang nr. 23). It is a remnant of the original
gatehouse and gatekeeper's lodge that stood here. There is some evidence on the north façade that this building was once bigger. The house is built in the local style of the
Mosan Renaissance with alternating layers of brick and limestone, a stepped gable and bluestone door and window frames. A brand new pavilion clad in COR-TEN steel was added to the east of this in 2004. Between this "Casa Nova" and the south wing of the main monastery a patio garden has been laid out. It is not clear whether anything remains of the
tenant farms,
tithe barns and other buildings that were once owned by the Maastricht Crosiers. In the small village of
Herderen in
Belgian Limburg, where the Crosiers owned several properties, a street is named after them, the Kruisherenstraat. File:2017 Maastricht, Kommel 26-28.jpg|Houses along Kommel File:2017 Maastricht, Kruisherengang nr 23.jpg|Renaissance House File:2017 Kruisherenhotel, Renaissancehuis, hotelkamer 3.jpg|Renaissance House, interior File:WLM - Minke Wagenaar - 07-07-07 Maastricht 063.jpg|Casa Nova == Other heritage ==