Sint Servaas lived in the 5th century and was bishop in Tongeren (B) but in Rome he had a vision of St Peter who instructed him to relocate the bishop seat to Maastricht. In this way Sint Servaas became the first bishop of the Netherlands.
The tomb of St Servaas became a focus of pelgrimage and soon a wooden church was erected over it. This was replaced by a church made out of stone. The basilica as it stands now is build in the 11th century, inspired by the example of the Roman basilica churches.