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Basilica of St. Servatius/Church of St. John, Maastricht 

I chose the Basilica of St. Servatius and the Church of St. John because they perfectly symbolize the conflict of the reformation between Catholicism and Protestantism and the differences in architecture during different periods and in different cultures.

These two churches were very important to the Reformation. They are located in Maastricht, which was a part of the Spanish Netherlands, a region that remained mostly Catholic during the Reformation. The Basilica of St. Servatius is one of the oldest churches in the Netherlands and has stood for centuries as a center of Catholic worship, remaining catholic during the Protestant Reformation. The Church of St. John, on the other hand, underwent severe changes during the Reformation and became influenced by the ideas that were spreading across Europe, becoming a fully Protestant church.

The thing that surprised me most about these two churches is simply that they were right next to each other. I believe this is the only instance that I can remember from my travels in all of Europe where there were two large churches of different religions and styles right next to each other. This choice is interesting because seeing two different churches at once clearly prompts a comparison between both their architecture and perhaps the religions of the people they house.

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Westminster Abbey, London

I picked Westminster Abbey because it is among the most iconic and significant buildings in the huge city of London. Many important religious and political events have occurred there, including royal weddings, burials, and coronations.   

Westminster Abbey was very significant to the English Reformation and underwent serious changes because of it. It was originally a Benedictine monastery, but King Henry VIII confiscated the wealth and property of the monasteries and claimed them as his own in an attempt to consolidate religious and political power. Westminster Abbey had been an important center for Catholic worship before Henry VIII founded the Church of England, and it became an important symbol of Protestantism in England during and after the Reformation.

The thing that most surprised me about Westminster Abbey is that it sort of blended in with the city around it. It was certainly beautiful and impressive, and I did not go inside, so I know that I missed out on much of the beauty that it had to offer, but London is a city full of beautiful stone buildings, and I expected the building in which Kings and Queens of England are coronated and buried to very clearly stand out from those other buildings. Until I was standing at the front entrance, I don’t think I would’ve known I was at a cite that was any more important than the many surrounding ones (which may say more about the overall beauty of London than it says about Westminster Abbey).

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St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland

I picked St. Giles Cathedral because it was a very distinct building in the city of Edinburgh. Many buildings and houses and shops are located in strips along the main roads, but this cathedral had its own large area carved out for it, so it was hard to miss it’s beauty and significance to the people of Edinburgh.

St. Giles Cathedral was incredibly important to the Reformation. It was the main place of worship for the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh and it was central to many of the religious and political changes that took place during the Reformation. Many people gathered there to hear influential speakers and thought leaders like John Knox.

The thing that most surprised me about the cathedral was that John Knox is buried right outside, and a plaque marking his grave is sitting right in the middle of the parking lot. The plaque is flat on the ground within a parking spot, so you can literally park right on top of John Knox’s dead body. I was very surprised that his grave was not more clearly marked (I would have certainly missed it if me and my friends hadn’t known where to look) and that it had not been preserved as a traditional burial site (and instead turned into a parking lot).

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John Knox's House in Edinburgh, Scotland

I chose to write about the John Knox house because it was very interesting seeing where someone so influential lived, and staying in Edinburgh and exploring the city gave me a better insight into the type of life that some of the Scottish reformers might have lived.

The house has to do with the Reformation because John Knox was an incredibly influential and popular figure during the Reformation and played an important role in establishing Presbyterianism in Scotland. Although Knox didn’t live there long, the house today is used as a sort of museum about his life and his work in reforming the church across Europe.

The thing that most surprised me about John Knox’s house was how much it was just like all of the other houses in Edinburgh. With the way celebrity culture is today, anyone influential or popular likely has a very nice home and lots of land and that sort of thing, and it was neat to imagine that someone with as much influence as John Knox just woke up and went about his days in the city just like anyone else would, and just like we did when we stayed in Edinburgh for the week. Seeing his house definitely helped to humanize him.

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The Beguinage in Bruges

I chose to write about the Beguinage because I was struck by the absolute sense of peace and beauty there. We visited on a day that had lovely weather, and while seeing the wind blow through the beautiful trees, grass, and flowers in the center of the complex, I couldn’t help but imagine how nice it might be to live a slowly-paced life in such a simple and beautiful community.

The Beguinage has to do with the Reformation because it was a place where religion was practiced separately from the Roman Catholic church that the reformers were pushing against. Women came together and lived lives of prayer and service, but they operated independently of the church that had become corrupt.

The thing that surprised me most about the Beguinage is that people still live there. It is a beautiful place to visit and, I imagine, to live, so I thought it was neat that women of certain orders still chose to live in the community there and did not let the peaceful space be wasted, even though the church and politics are so different today than they were when the Beguinage was built.