Eerste Minderbroederskerk (First Franciscan Friars’ Church), Maastricht

Eerste Minderbroederskerk is a church that was formerly part of the Franciscan monastery, called Oude Minderbroederklooster, situated on Sint Pieterstraat in Maastricht. The Franciscans got permission to build the monastery in 1234. After it was dissolved in 1639, this complex of buildings has seen many different uses, including an orphanage, an arsenal, a military hospital, and an archive.

The most important remnant of the monastery is the church, whose construction commenced apparently shortly before 1300 and was completed a century later. Spacious and sober, a 'preachery' without a tower, this typically medieval, Maas-Gothic style Franciscan temple was built from Limburg marl on a plinth of coal sandstone.

A number of other monastic buildings still in place also date back to that period. Back in 1506, severe storm caused the roof turret to collapse through the church's roof, inflicting great damage and largely destroying the magnificent main altar. Another, Baroque altar was placed in the temple in 1624. Centuries after the Franciscans were forced out of the monastery, the altar was replaced with a neo-Gothic one – in 1852.

Curiously enough, over the course of its almost 700-year history, this monastery church has served a non-religious purpose longer than a religious one. Only a few original parts of its interior still remind of the religious use, including various carefully preserved works of art, such as the wall and vault paintings dating from the 16th century, adorning part of the marlstone rood screen and some spots inside the vault. Also notable in this respect are the thirteen ancient gravestones (or fragments thereof) found in the choir, about half of them medieval, including at least two dating back to the 13th century.