Selexyz Dominicanen opens in Maastricht
November 20, 2006 16 Comments
There was much interest for Maastricht’s impressive new bookstore last Saturday afternoon.
Selexyz Dominicanen, as it is called, is located in the city’s old Dominican Church. After many months of renovation the magnificent building is finally ready for its new purpose.
Selexyz Dominicanen is the result of a merge between Maastricht’s Bergmans bookshop and the Academische Boekhandel. The name Selexyz indicates that the new bookstore also belongs to the same chain as Selexyz Donner in Rotterdam and Selexyz Broese in Utrecht, among others. One of the most attractive characteristics of Selexyz bookstores is that they (usually) offer a wide selection of books in English… and at first glance, Selexyz Dominicanen did not look disappointing at all in that department!
The upper floors, which are soon to become accessible to the public, will certainly offer a spectacular view of the premises. At the back of the church clients and visitors can sit and admire the beautifully renovated ceiling frescoes, while enjoying a nice warm cup of tea or coffee…
In order to emphasise the medieval origins of the Dominican Church, there was a small medieval market at the entrance of the building. Visitors were also entertained with fighting demonstrations and medieval music.
The Dominican Church is located right next to the entirely redesigned Entre Deux shopping centre and close to Maastricht’s famous Vrijthof square. The new bookstore will certainly contribute to attracting even more customers to the area.
It seems unbelievable to think that the beautiful church once served as a parking garage for bicycles!
Photograph by Olya via Flickr.com
Update 10 January 2007: View from the upper floors at Selexyz Dominicanen
On my first visit to Selexyz Dominicanen, Maastricht’s new magnificent bookstore, the upper floors were not accessible to the public yet. Now they are, and here’s what they look like.
Did you notice the cross-shaped reading table? Everyone is welcome to take a seat and go through some of the magazines and newspapers that are kept in the gaps that run through the middle of the table.
Selexyz Dominicanen also organises many literary activities (mostly in Dutch), such as interviews with writers or book signing sessions. Have a look at the bookstore’s website for the detailed calendar of events.
Text and photographs by Sueli Brodin, Crossroads editor
Related article: Between Two: Selexyz Dominicanen as Church and Bookstore, March 2008
Nice photos! It makes me wish I could have been there. What a great use for an old church, with a nice layout. It looks like the kind of place I’d be content to spend hours…provided there were enough English books
Does anyone know the significance/etymology of the name?
Selexyz Dominicanen = the name of the bookstore.
It used to be the Dominicanen Church. A church for the catholics in the order of the ‘Dominicanen’.
Absolutely beautiful! I commented on it here:
http://amateureconblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/book-store-made-in-heaven.html
My goodness. It’s incredible. I want to move there just for the bookshop! In my town I get my books from a newsagency in a very suburban and flat and uninspiring shopping mall, next to the butchers. Wow. incredible.
[...] Os mais famosos arquitetos do mundo estão reinventando as bibliotecas. A de Seattle, nos Estados Unidos (foto acima) foi desenhada por Rem Koolhaas. Existem outras propostas mais simples, mas não menos inovadoras, como o Ônibus do Livro, da Suécia, do grupo de design Muungano, ou a Biblioteca Pública de Phoenix, Estados Unidos, projeto do escritório de arquitetura Will Bruder + Partners. Inaugurada em 1995, esta biblioteca tem acervo de um milhão de volumes e perfeitas soluções em termos de iluminação e ventilação, sem afetar o meio ambiente. Ou ainda a Selexyz Dominicanen, em Maastricht, Holanda, projeto da firma de arquitetura Merkx + Girod, no interior de uma igreja. [...]
[...] Via Crossroads Magazine [...]
[...] Livraria em igreja – história e fotos [...]
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[...] more I adore than renovation projects (being the truest of green building techniques) but this Dominican Church Turned Bookstore really makes me pop! I don’t know about you, but I love making my daily interest playfully [...]
Beautiful. I’ve visited it, also El Ateneo and Lello (Porto). Difficult to say witch one is the loveliest. Very difficult.
[...] »» Selexyz Dominicanen opens in Maastricht : Crossroads [...]
[...] reading this awesome article about a HUGE church that was turned into a bookstore, I think perhaps that would be the way [...]
I took my camera and wide angle lens to the store and shot some pictures as well. They can be found at http://www.prepressure.com/blog/pictures-from-the-selexyz-dominicanen-bookstore
It is indeed a beautiful store and I visit it every time I am in Maastricht. Thanks for digging up the history of the Dominican Church before it was turned into a bookshop!
[...] (Photos courtesy of Crossroads Magazine) [...]
[...] Merkx + Girod Via Crossroads Magazine and [...]
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