Munster Church, Roermond

Built in the late Romanesque style, this church may look dark and brooding on the outside, but inside it is surprisingly light and open. Munster, which is Dutch for 'Minster', derives from the Latin word monasterium, meaning 'monastery'. The church was built in the early thirteenth century as an abbey church for the Cistercian order of nuns in Roermond. It also served as the sepulchral church for Gerard II, Count of Guelders. Nine centuries later, his tomb still has pride of place in the Munster Church.