Crypt and church

The crypt and the choir and chancel above have a cloverleaf pattern. The western-most part of the crypt (the stem of the cloverleaf) was built later. When the crypt was consecrated in 1108, it was smaller than it is today.
The crypt and the abbey are dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the archangel Gabriel, which is why scenes of Gabriel’s appearance to Mary are widespread throughout Rolduc. Remarkable is the fact that the columns in the crypt all have a different design.
  
 

The chancel above the crypt was completed in 1130 and eight years later the northern and southern transepts were constructed. The crossing had not yet then been raised, so that it was flanked by two wings on the same level. This transversal gallery consisted of three sections, the roofs of each comprising a vaulted ceiling supported by columns. In 1143, the church was extended westwards with a further three sections. In the original design, two smaller sections in the side aisles were planned to the south of these three sections.
This plan was changed during construction. In the second (and later in a fourth) section, the aisles on either side were raised to the same height as the nave to form so-called pseudo transepts, so that on the outside of the church they look like transepts, whereas in fact they do not extend beyond the foundation plan of the church. These pseudo-transepts were not initially intended to be aesthetic, but designed to give better support to the vaults and to allow more light into the church. The same construction method was also used in the older Mariakerk (now demolished) in Utrecht and later used in the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk in Maastricht. When the three sections of the nave were completed in 1143, a solid enclosing wall was built at the end of the third section. This third section was not yet then vaulted and in 1153, the thatched roof was replaced by tiles.
Later in the twelfth century, the exact date is not known, a fourth section was built and the church extended further westwards. Originally, this would have consisted of a middle section (on which the tower now stands) and two lower side aisles.
The tower extended no further upwards than the ledge that can be seen on the outside under the gothic windows.
  
 
 
The westwork would originally have been much lower and compacter than now. The church was completed and consecrated in 1209. Prior to 1225, the crypt was extended westwards, the stem of the cloverleaf, as it were, being made longer. The choir above it was consequently raised along the same length. This raised section, in the crossing, likewise cut the transepts in two. In the sixteenth century, in line with the fashions of the time, the Romanesque trimmings were removed from the crypt and the choir and replaced with Gothic designs.
  
 
The two side recesses of the crypt and choir were demolished and the circular windows replaced with perpendicular ones. In the mid-eighteenth century, the crypt was plastered in rococo style.
The choir stalls were installed on the crossing in the choir in the seventeenth century. Their carvings are simple but powerful in design. A tower was constructed on the westwork in 1624 and in 1678, its stone steeple was replaced by one made in timber with slates.
In 1853, the young architect, P.H.J. Cuypers, was commissioned to restore the crypt and to reinstate as much as possible the original Romanesque fabric. The first restoration projects were also carried out on the church at the same time. Restoration of the church was resumed in 1893, including the reconstruction of the side recesses in the cloverleaf layout. As faithful as possible a reconstruction of the old chancel was carried out on the basis of the old foundation plans that had been found. The frescoes were painted between 1894 and 1902 by the Aachen-based priest, Goebbels. The tombstones of the abbots in the side aisles were removed and placed vertically outside the church and against the walls in the transept.
  
 
Other buildings

The abbot’s lodging, which now forms the entrance to Rolduc, and the adjacent corner tower, were built by Abbot van der Steghe in Maasland Renaissance style between 1671 and 1676.
From both inside and outside, they give an impression of grandeur, reflecting to some extent the status of the abbots, who had been rewarded with the right to wear the mitre ever since the time of van der Steghe.
  
 The quadrangle, which housed a courtyard surrounded by the cloisters to the north of the church show little of the original form which was less elevated than today. The western side is more or less original, but the other sides have been raised and altered in the course of time.

The eastern wing, which looks directly onto the gardens, was built by Moretti, an Aachen-based architect between 1752 and 1754.
The splendid library which it houses has plasterwork designed in late eighteenth century rococo style.
To the south of the main complex is a farmstead dating from the end of the eighteenth century. For a long time it remained in private hands, but was bought back by Rolduc in 1980 and restored.

The southern wing, on the right-hand side when you are facing the church, was built in 1848 as a school.
  
Between 1970 and 1990, the building that make up Rolduc, including the crypt and the church with their frescoes, underwent major restoration work.
In 1992, Rolduc received the Europa Nostra Award, a prize awarded in recognition of projects that contribute to the upkeep of the European cultural heritage.
  
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