Basilica of St. Plechelm

The basilica of St. Plechelm is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to the 8th-century Irish monk Saint Plechelm, whose festival on 15 July has been on the calendar of the medieval diocese of Utrecht ever since his canonisation in the 10th century.

The oldest parts of the existing building date from the middle and the second half of the 12th century, but the history of the church goes back to the 8th century, when the traveling missionary Plechelmus founded the first church on the site, the Silvesterkerk, initially dedicated to pope Silvester and sometime before 954 rededicated to Plechelmus himself (canonised after the elevation of his relics).

In 954, bishop Balderik of Utrecht founded a chapter in Oldenzaal and expanded and restored the 8th-century church, allowing the relics of Plechelmus used on his canonisation to be transferred to it. The current tower was erected around 1240. The church was enlarged in Gothic style in 1480s.

Address
Sint Plechelmusplein 20, Oldenzaal, Netherlands

Established
c. 1150