Sint-Matthiaskerk (St. Matthias Church), Maastricht

The Saint Matthias Church is a Gothic church in the heart of Maastricht. As one of the four Roman Catholic parish churches in the city center, it is dedicated to the apostle Matthias. Behind the church, a former cemetery later became a parsonage garden, bordered by the Saint Anthony Chapel.

The foundation stone of the current church was laid in 1351, but records indicate a church existed on this site as early as 1297-98. Built in Maas Gothic style, Saint Matthias Church features a three-aisled marl stone structure atop a Namur stone plinth. Its unfinished three-section tower, with a stair turret on the southwest, is slightly misaligned with the main axis. The 1769 tower crown complements the west entrance, set beneath a neo-Gothic Calvary sculpture from 1882. The basilical nave has a higher choir, a sacristy to the north, and a neo-Gothic baptistery from 1859 to the south.

Inside, the church features a six-bay nave, a two-bay high chancel, and lower aisles. Irregular columns with varied capitals, some Maas-style, separate the aisles from the nave. Vault ribs rest on carved consoles depicting angels and coats of arms. The ground floor of the tower serves as the entrance, with a 1680 Baroque porch from the Augustinian church. The pentagonal choir has Gothic windows, while the marble folk altar comes from the demolished Third Franciscan Church. Notable furnishings include a Louis XIV pulpit, a 1707 baptismal font from the Catharina Chapel, and a circa 1300 baptismal font now in the Bonnefantenmuseum.

The church preserves late Gothic paintings, including a Resurrection from 1585 in the north aisle. While a 19th-century neo-Gothic decorative scheme once adorned the interior, much of it was covered by plaster and marble slabs in the 1920s. The stained glass windows mostly date to the 19th century, with some later additions by Charles Eyck.

Among the church’s significant artworks are several late Gothic statues, including a 15th-century Pietà and a female saint attributed to Jan van Steffeswert. The church’s treasury holds an extensive collection of reliquaries, chalices, monstrances, and other liturgical vessels, as well as a rare collection of 18th- and 19th-century silver brotherhood plaques.