Sanctuary underground
Derlon Hotel, Maastricht
On Maastricht’s most beautiful square, the Onze Lieve Vrouweplein, lies the Derlon Hotel. For 150 years you have been able to stay here in style and enjoy exclusive gastronomy. For 2,000 years this has been a place of significance. The proof lies in the cellar.
In the atmospheric museum cellar of the Derlon Hotel, Roman Maastricht quite literally lies at your feet. Here you can admire extensive archaeological excavations. The first remains you encounter are late-Roman: massive walls that were part of the castellum (fortification). Further on lie the remains of a Roman sanctuary.
Among them are parts of a gate and a column. Travelers along the Via Belgica once made offerings here for a safe journey or profitable trade. The presence of a well suggests it was also a resting place along the road. At the very bottom lies the oldest find: a pre-Roman (probably Celtic) pathway paved with Meuse cobblestones. This little road was already being walked more than two thousand years ago.
A visit to our cellar costs €5 per person, including a cup of coffee or tea / cappuccino / espresso / latte.
Discover
- Stay in the luxurious four-star hotel in the heart of the city
- Enjoy a drink on the terrace of Maastricht’s most beautiful square
- Visit the museum cellar (freely accessible for small groups)
- Experience the sanctuary with the app
Fun to know
- Religious ritual still alive today
- Roman life was full of religious rituals. For every problem or wish, there was a god. At the heart of the Roman sanctuary beneath the Derlon Hotel stood a Jupiter column. Jupiter was the supreme Roman god. Travelers made offerings at this column. The actual temple (the sanctuary may have been a “forecourt”) probably lies beneath the adjacent Basilica of Our Lady. Here, a religious ritual is still very actively practiced. Just count the number of candles burning in the chapel.