Waiters instead of priests, the connoisseurs of international cuisine instead of worshipers. Church turned into a restaurant?
In Maastricht, two places of worship have lost their spiritual purpose. In the last 50 years, more than 900Dutch churches have been closed. Many of them have found new, often commercial purpose: restaurants, hotels and even bookstores.
One of the waitresses who’s been working there for many years now, admits that she’s never heard any protests against this new trend. ¨Even though theatmosphereis notreminiscent of a place of worship, it does not mean that God is not here, she says. “We are not sacrilegious. It is because our society has changed”, she adds. Dutch people rarely go to church. Averagely, 50 people tend to attend Sunday mass, that’s why the congregationsoften decide to close churches until they find an investor willing to breathe new life into them.
The hotel’s architect and star of Dutch design Henk Vos, arranged the interior in a way that allows visitors to catch glimpse of it from many angles. This is the reason why the hotel consists of many levels: with bar and reception situated on the ground floor, and library and business room located on the mezzanine level. But the hotel restaurant leaves the biggest impression on us. Local women Ingrid and Natalie always dine here after Saturday shopping. ¨The atmosphere is magical like nowhere else, and the food is incredible¨, they tell me smiling.
¨We serve the food suspended between heaven and earth¨, the hotel´s manager says. While dining, guests can admire exceptional ceiling and perfect lighting design.
But the unique design is not always practical.¨ The kitchen downstairs is very small. It causes some logistic problems¨, one of the hotel´s cooks complains. Still, this setback does not take away the pride of working here. The hotel´s staff admit that historical interiors inspire them to provide the best service possible. ¨My favorite dish is lobster with cheese crust and French rice¨, the cook adds. ¨Salmon is also good. It tastes just right¨.
Today, the hotel is Maastricht´s most-visited attraction. Nearly 80, 000 guests visit the building yearly. Until now, only two guests refused to book a room because they felt their religious feelings were hurt. This controversy has as many supporters as opponents. For the former, it is an expression of modern design. For the latter, the conversion remains sacrireligious. But at the end, nobody can stay indifferent.