Maastricht (L):
St. Martinus (P.J.H. Cuypers, 1856-1858)
In the eastern part of Maastricht,
in Wyck, we find one of P.J.H. Cuypers' early works, the St.
Martinus from 1858, a replacement for an older church which was
severely damaged by the French in 1794, considered beyond repair
and demolished in 1854. A competition was held and Cuypers'
design won, although the commissioners were quite surprised when
Cuypers told them he charged 10% of the total costs; that was
an awful lot of money for some pencils and few pieces of paper!
This was Cuypers' first church built in a city, and his name
was obviously still not nearly as famous as it would soon become.
The church is quite similar to some of Cuypers' other early churches.
The tower is an improved version of the one he designed for the
church in Kranenburg (G). Like that church, the St. Martinus
is a three-aisled basilican cruciform church, only with flying
buttresses. The tympanum at the porch, depicting St. Martin sharing
his robe with a beggar, is the church's major outside ornament
but is an addition from 1946. In 1923 a sacristy in moderate
Expressionist style, designed by A.J.N.
Boosten, was built next to the choir. |