Religious pilgrimages were an important part of the Christian world. There were many reasons to embark on a pilgrimage: seeking forgiveness for sins, shortening the stay in purgatory for the pilgrim’s soul or that of their loved ones, asking for healing or other divine help, expressing gratitude, or deepening one’s piety and devotion.
The destinations of pilgrimages were places associated with Christ’s presence and activities or the places of action or rest of saints.
The most significant place was the city of Jerusalem and the site of the Holy Sepulchre. In Europe, the most visited places included Rome, the seat of the popes and associated with the activities of St. Peter, and the city of Santiago de Compostela with the relics of St. James. In the Czech lands, the most important pilgrimage site was Prague, where the relics of several saints rested over time, the most significant being the national patron St. Wenceslas, who was interred in St. Vitus Cathedral.
Undertaking a pilgrimage meant enduring a challenging and often dangerous journey, whether by land or partially by sea, and it was considered a significant achievement for the individual. Providing shelter and help to a pilgrim was regarded as a matter of good manners. The development of pilgrimage also had an economic and commercial aspect, especially around pilgrimage sites and travel inns.
A pilgrim could often be recognized by their specific attire, which is frequently depicted in various images. This typically included a satchel, cloak, pilgrim’s staff, pilgrim badges, and the scallop shell of St. James was a common motif or symbol. The scallop shell was a popular item, believed to be blessed and thus endowed with supernatural abilities. Such a shell was sometimes placed at the bottom of a well to ensure the purity of the water.
— In the 4th century, upon receiving a vision from Saint Peter during a pilgrimage to Rome, a man named Servatius is said to have moved his bishopric to Maastricht where he became a missionary and the first bishop of the Netherlands. A wooden chapel was built above his grave. Whether Servatius actually lived cannot be proven, but legends told about him and his place of death quickly sparked a great fascination. Already in the 6th century the chapel had to be replaced by a stone church, and then by another, even bigger one in the 11th century, to hold all the pilgrims.
Eventually, the church in Maastricht turned into a proper tourist attraction. After a little (fee-based) confession, faithful Christians could receive a pre-written absolution certificate, on which only their name had to be added. In the 15th century, canons of the Servatius Church calculated that attendance of the relic procession would earn you a total of 887 years and 245 days less spent in purgatory. During this procession that took place every seventh year many great relics were shown, including the burial cloths of Servatius, a silver bust containing his remains, a cross with a drop of breast milk of the Virgin Mary, or the right arm of Saint Thomas. During the reveal, all pilgrims were encouraged to blow their pilgrim's horns – which could, of course, be bought on site. After the procession pilgrims could come by inside to witness even more relics – Servatius's cup to drink from for a health boost, a cross made of wood of Noah's ark, a part of Mary Magdalene's skull, a fragment of the loin cloth Jesus wore at the Cucifixion, or a key that Servatius had received from Saint Peter himself (actually commissioned by Charlemagne around 800).
The crowd these indulgences and relics attracted was enormous. While no exact numbers were recorded for Maastricht, they are known for Aachen, with which Maastricht had aligned its 2-weeks long procession period in July – you could even hire bodyguards to accompany you from one place to the other. 142,000 visitors are said to have attended the pilgrimage of 1496, over 10,000 within a day. So many, in fact, that several houses in which they were accommodated collapsed, killing 13 people and leaving 80 injured.
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