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| Established | ±1070 |
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| Location | Keizer Karelplein 6, Maastricht, Netherlands |
| Coordinates | 50°50′55″N5°41′14″E / 50.848611°N 5.687222°E |
| Director | Jacques van Rensch (treasurer) |
| Website | www |
The Treasury of the Basilica of Saint Servatius is a museum of religious art and artifacts inside the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht, Netherlands.
The treasure of the church of Saint Servatius was put together over many centuries. One of the oldest pieces (today non-existent) was a reliquary in the shape of a triumphal arch, donated by Einhard (biographer of Charlemagne and abbot of Saint Servatius) in the 9th century. In the 11th century a custodian ('custos') was put in charge of the church's already seizable treasure.
During the late Middle Ages the number of relics further increased. A septennial Pilgrimage of the Relics (Dutch: Heiligdomsvaart) attracted tens of thousands of pilgrims. At these occasions, the main relics were shown to the pilgrims gathered in Vrijthof square from the dwarf gallery. [1] In 1579, the church treasure suffered badly during the Sack of Maastricht by the Spanish troops led by the Duke of Parma. In 1634, under the threat of war, the treasure was brought to Liège, where it remained for twenty years.
After the conquest of Maastricht by the French in 1794, the chapter of Saint Servatius was made to pay heavy war taxes. In order to pay these taxes gold and silver artefacts from the church treasure were melted down or sold. In 1798 the chapter was dissolved. A few important pieces had been brought into safety by the canons, some of which were given back after the church was restored to the religious service in 1804, but other pieces could not be retrieved. Some of the church's former treasures can now be found in museums and libraries around the world, such as the National Library of the Netherlands [2] in The Hague, the Royal Museums of Art and History [3] [4] in Brussels, the Musée du Louvre [5] [6] in Paris, the Kunstgewerbemuseum [7] in Berlin, the Alte Pinakothek [8] in Munich, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe [9] in Hamburg, the Victoria and Albert Museum [10] in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art [11] and The Morgan Library & Museum [12] in New York. The present treasure of the Basilica of Saint Servatius therefore, is much smaller than it once used to be.
In 1340 it was reported that the treasure of the church was kept in a dark vaulted room on the lower floor of what is called the double chapel. The double chapel is one of the oldest surviving parts of the church and dates back to the 11th century. It was built adjacent to the northern transept and can only be accessed via the cloisters. This seems to have been the permanent location of the treasury until 1873, when it moved to the former refectory and chapter school.
After the restoration of the double chapel in 1982, the treasury was once again housed in its original location. The treasury now occupies both floors of the double chapel and a side room on each level. The basement floor with archaeological excavations has been made accessible. The entrance to the treasury, via the East wing of the cloisters, is on Keizer Karelplein, which is also the main entrance to the church.
The treasure of the Basilica of Saint Servatius traditionally consists of four parts: 1. the so-called Servatiana, objects traditionally associated with the life of Servatius, 2. relics and reliquaries, 3. liturgical implements and 4. ancient fabrics. The church's art collection and various archaeological finds are not part of the treasure but are also exhibited in the museum.
This part of the treasure suffered most during the French period (1794-1814). Many chalices, patens, monstrances and other liturgical objects made of gold or silver were melted down in order to pay the war taxes that the French demanded from the canons. However, a few liturgical vessels from the Middle Ages survived and quite a few from the Baroque period (notably some Maastricht silver pieces) are still in the collection.
The medieval textiles collection of the Basilica of Saint Servatius is counted among the most important of its kind. [18] From 1989 till 1991 the textiles were carefully restored and documented by specialists from the Swiss Abegg-Stiftung [19] in Riggisberg. Among the best pieces in the collection are the so-called albe of Saint Servatius [20] and the robe of Monulph . [21] Furthermore, there is an extensive collection of early-Medieval woven silks (some dating back to the 7th century) from Constantinople, [22] Egypt [23] and Central Asia [24] and various medieval woven materials from the Meuse-Rhine area, [25] Spain, [26] Italy [27] and the Middle East. [28]
The art collection of the Treasury of the Basilica of Saint Servatius consists of a modest collection of paintings, prints, illuminated manuscripts, wood carving, stone sculptures, alabaster and ivory carving, enamels, and gold and silver smithing.
Archaeological excavations took place in the double chapel in 1981-82. Underneath the ground level floor of the Sacrarium inferior canons' grave stones were found, some dating back to the 13th century. Also, parts of walls were excavated that at the time were interpreted as the remains of a Carolingian polygonal church. [29] As it turned out, the walls belonged to polygonal transept arms of a 10th or 11th century church. [30] These remains can be seen in the basement underneath the treasury. Part of the archaeological collection is on display in the lapidarium in the eastern crypt. An important find was the 1086 funeral cross of Humbert, who was provost of the chapter of Saint Lambert's Cathedral in Liège and Saint Servatius in Maastricht. It was he who had the double chapel built which is today the church treasury.
Maastricht is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the Meuse, at the point where the Jeker joins it. Mount Saint Peter (Sint-Pietersberg) is largely situated within the city's municipal borders. Maastricht is adjacent to the border with Belgium and is part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, an international metropolis with a population of about 3.9 million, which includes the nearby German and Belgian cities of Aachen, Liège, and Hasselt.
The Sainte-Chapelle is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, shamanism, and many other religions. Relic derives from the Latin reliquiae, meaning "remains", and a form of the Latin verb relinquere, to "leave behind, or abandon". A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics.
A reliquary is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a fereter, and a chapel in which it is housed a feretory or feretery.
Schatzkammer, a German word which means "treasury" or "treasure chamber", is a term sometimes used in English for the collection of treasures, especially objets d’art in precious metals and jewels, of a ruler or other collector which are kept in a secure room and often found in the basement of a palace or castle. It also often included the wider types of object typical of the Renaissance cabinet of curiosities. A very small but evocative Renaissance room in a tower at Lacock Abbey was designed for keeping and viewing the treasures of the newly rich owner.
Saint Servatius was bishop of Tongeren —Latin: Atuatuca Tungrorum, the capital of the Tungri—. Servatius is patron saint of the city of Maastricht and the towns of Schijndel and Grimbergen. He is one of the Ice Saints. His feast day is May 13.
Mosan art is a regional style of art from the valley of the Meuse in present-day Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Although in a broader sense the term applies to art from this region from all periods, it generally refers to Romanesque art, with Mosan Romanesque architecture, stone carving, metalwork, enamelling and manuscript illumination reaching a high level of development during the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.
Gerlach was a 12th-century Dutch hermit. His cult is centered at Houthem near Valkenburg in the south of the province of Limburg.
The Basilica of Saint Servatius is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Servatius, in the city of Maastricht, the Netherlands. The architecturally hybrid but mainly Romanesque church is situated next to the Gothic church of Saint John, backing onto the town's main square, Vrijthof.
Candidus was a commander of the Theban Legion. The Theban Legion was composed of Christians from Upper Egypt. He is venerated as a Christian saint and martyr.
Christianity has a strong tradition of pilgrimages, both to sites relevant to the New Testament narrative and to sites associated with later saints or miracles.
Monulph was a sixth-century bishop of Tongeren and Maastricht, and is revered as a Roman Catholic saint.
The Basilica of Our Lady is a Romanesque church in the historic center of Maastricht, Netherlands. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption and is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Diocese of Roermond. The church is often referred to as the Star of the Sea, after the church's main devotion, Our Lady, Star of the Sea.
Maastricht silver is a collective name for silver objects produced in Maastricht, Netherlands, mainly in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the town was a major centre for silversmithing.
The Treasury of St. Vitus Cathedral is a collection of ecclesiastical treasures of the Prague Cathedral and is in the property of Prague Cathedral Chapter. It is the largest church treasury in the Czech Republic and one of the most extensive in Europe. The Treasure contains more than 400 items, 139 from them have been displayed since 2012 in a new exhibition in the Chapel of the Holy Rood in Prague Castle.
A church treasury or church treasure is the collection of historical art treasures belonging to a church, usually a cathedral or monastery. Such "treasure" is usually held and displayed in the church's treasury or in a diocesan museum. Historically the highlight of church treasures was often a collection of reliquaries.
Vrijthof is a large urban square in the centre of Maastricht, Netherlands. The square developed from an ancient Roman and Frankish cemetery into a semi-private space that belonged to the Collegiate Church of Saint Servatius. In the 19th century, it became the town's main square. It is surrounded by important heritage buildings, museums, a theatre, and a range of hotels, restaurants, and bars. The square is regularly used for public events.
The Trier Cathedral Treasury is a museum of Christian art and medieval art in Trier, Germany. The museum is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier and is located inside the Cathedral of Trier. It contains some of the church's most valuable relics, reliquaries, liturgical vessels, ivories, manuscripts and other artistic objects. The history of the Trier church treasure goes back at least 800 years. In spite of heavy losses during the period of the Coalition Wars, it is one of the richest cathedral treasuries in Germany. With the cathedral it forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Pilgrimage of the Relics or Maastricht Septennial Pilgrimage is a seven-yearly Catholic event in the Dutch city of Maastricht. Originating in the Middle Ages, it developed from a pilgrimage to the grave of Saint Servatius into the present-day religious, historical, cultural and commercial enterprise. Highlights in the programme are the displaying or unveiling of the relics in the main churches and secondly, the processions with the town's main relics. The next pilgrimage will take place in 2025.
The Treasury of St Mark's Basilica contains the church treasure or collection of sacred objects and reliquaries kept in St Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy. The treasure constitutes the single best collection of Byzantine metalwork and enamels that survives, many of the items having been looted during the Fourth Crusade of 1204. The treasury also contains some significant artworks made for the basilica itself, but no longer used there.
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