中國網(wǎng)站品牌欄目（頻道）
中國有一個詞叫“書香門第”，而在對待宗教相對寬容的荷蘭，人們將一座歷史悠久的教堂改建成了書店，使之成為一座“書香教堂”。在寬敞舒適的環(huán)境下讀一本好書已是一件美事，再加上古雅的建筑和一絲宗教的味道，的確會讓人產(chǎn)生一種置身天堂的感覺：好書店，天堂造。有機會能去馬斯特里赫特的讀者可一定要去觀摩一番這座特色書店，才算不虛此行哦！
By Amrit Dhir
樂楓 選 曾真 譯
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What does a city do with an 800-year-old church with no congregation? Well, it could make like the Dutch and convert it into a temple of books. The old Dominican church in Maastricht was being used for bicycle storage not long ago, but thanks to a radical refurbishment by Dutch architects, it has been turned into what could possibly be the most beautiful bookshop of all time. Selexyz Dominicanen stands tall in the center of the city. As a 13th century gothic church, it offers its visitors a breathtaking high ceiling, a majestic nave, grand ornamentation, and an opportunity to worship: not at the great altar of God, but at the many altars of literature. Named as one of the “World’s 10 Best Bookshops” by the UK’s highly-regarded Guardian newspaper, the Selexyz Dominicanen has quickly become one of Maastricht’s tourist attractions. “After the Guardian article, this place has been a madhouse,” remarks William Remmers, General Department Head of the store. The bookstore fits almost snugly between Maastricht’s two dominant squares, the Markt and the Vrijthof. The renovation project was led by Selexyz, a large Dutch bookstore chain, in collaboration with the city council of Maastricht. Selexyz Dominicanen opened, to some medieval fanfare in November 2006. The Dominican friars began building their church in 1267, and it was consecrated in 1294. It endured through Maastricht’s often turbulent religious history for exactly five centuries until in 1794 post-revolutionary French forces annexed the city and expelled the Dominicans. The French used the church for religious purposes for a little over a decade and then converted it to a warehouse. “[The French] cavalry used it for their horses. Since then, it hasn’t really been used as a church,” notes Remmers. “It’s been multiple things: bicycle storage; a place to take exams for classes; there have been boxing matches here; reptile and amphibian shows; Christmas markets; it was even used as a second-hand book salespoint. It hasn’t been a church for over 200 years.” “In the last few years, religion [in the Netherlands] is declining, and a lot of churches are abandoned. People still think that they should serve a decent purpose. Of course, there are always some things you can do with a church and some things you can’t do,” Remmers reflects, “although I never heard people complaining about this being a bicycle storage or a place to party during Carnival.” Still, Selexyz Dominicanen represents the first project in the Netherlands to turn a church into a bookstore. And, in fact, this conversion has been beneficial to the cultural heritage of the site. The project team has conducted considerable restoration on the ceiling paintings. One indication of the great care with which the renovation was undertaken is perhaps the time the project took. Selexyz made its proposal in 2002, and worked with the city council of Maastricht and Entre Deux for the next four years before its opening in 2006. This care is furthermore illustrated by the architectural design of the site: “You have to consider a lot of things,” says Remmers. “First of all, it’s a church. Second of all, it’s also a monument. So you have to treat it with care. Everything you see here stands alone in the room. It doesn’t come attached to the walls. The cabinets where we hold our books all stand aside from the walls.” To maintain a sense of symmetrical balance in the space, lower tables of best sellers and latest releases have been added to either side, and of course a small cafe at the back for readers to relax and enjoy a hot drink. The bookstore has generated much buzz in the online world. Crossroads ’ photo feature on the opening of the store from the autumn of 2006 remains its most-viewed page. In addition, an Internet search reveals that there is also a good deal of interest from Japan. Asked about the Dutch reading habits, Remmers explains, “I think that the Dutch people like to read very much; they’re very versatile in their reading. The crime novels are very popular.” He adds, “Our English section sells very well. I think it has to do with a lot of people coming from Maastricht University who tend to read a little more in English.” The Dutch, the students, and the expatriates certainly constitute a unique and vibrant reading culture in Maastricht. Appropriately, they all now have an equally splendid place to congregate.
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對于一座城市來說，一間有八百年歷史卻沒有教眾聚會的教堂能拿來干什么呢？嗯，可以模仿荷蘭人，把它改建成一座圖書的殿堂。馬斯特里赫特市的多明我老教堂不久前還被用來存放自行車，但經(jīng)過一群荷蘭建筑師的徹底翻修之后，它搖身一變竟成了或許是有史以來最美的書店之一。 希萊克斯多明我書店高高聳立于市中心。這座建于13世紀的哥特式教堂為紛至沓來的參觀者們展現(xiàn)的是高得驚人的天花板、宏偉的中殿和華美的裝飾，并為人們提供了表達崇敬的機會：景仰的不是上帝的偉大圣壇，而是琳瑯滿目的文學著作。 英國久負盛名的《衛(wèi)報》把希萊克斯多明我書店列入“全球十佳書店”，使之迅速成為馬斯特里赫特市的旅游勝地之一。“《衛(wèi)報》的那篇文章發(fā)表過后，這地方就人滿為患了，”書店總務處主任威廉?雷默斯如是說。 馬斯特里赫特市有兩大廣場——馬克和瑞吉瑟夫廣場，而書店就安然坐落于這兩大廣場之間。翻修工程是由荷蘭的一家大型連鎖書店希萊克斯主導完成的，并與馬斯特里赫特市議會進行了合作。 2006年11月，希萊克斯多明我書店在一片中世紀的樂聲中熱熱鬧鬧地開張了。多明我修道士們在1267年就開始修建這座教堂，并于1294年落成。它在馬斯特里赫特市風起云涌的宗教歷史中經(jīng)歷了整整五個世紀的洗禮，直到1794年，大革命后的法國軍隊吞并了這座城市，才將多明我修道士們驅逐出城。法國人在接下來的十多年里用這座教堂進行過一些宗教活動，之后就將其改為了倉庫。 “（法國）騎兵將這里用作馬廄，此后，也再沒被人真正當作一個教堂來用，”雷默斯強調說，“這里有過很多用途：存放自行車、供班級考試、進行拳擊比賽、舉辦爬行和兩棲類動物展覽、開辦圣誕集市，甚至還曾經(jīng)是二手書交易市場。它有兩百多年的時間都沒被當作教堂來使用。” “過去幾年，（荷蘭的）宗教江河日下，許多教堂都被廢棄了。人們還是認為應該把教堂用來做一些莊重得體的事。當然，盡管我從沒聽大家抱怨說不該把教堂當作自行車庫或狂歡節(jié)期間的聚會場所，但教堂的用途往往還是有一定限制的。” 雷默斯深思道。 盡管如此，希萊克斯多明我書店依然成為荷蘭的第一項教堂變書店工程。而實際上，這一華麗變身也給教堂的文化傳承帶來了好處。項目組對天花板上的圖案進行了大量的修復工作。修復工作中花費的大量心思也許可以從工程所用的時間當中略知一二。希萊克斯于2002年遞交了方案，接下來又跟馬斯特里赫特市議會和中間購物中心一起忙碌了四年，這才于2006年開張營業(yè)。 這種心思還進一步體現(xiàn)在書店的建筑設計上。“你得考慮到很多因素，”雷默斯說，“首先，這是一座教堂。其次，它還是一座紀念碑。因此，我們一定得小心對待。你在這兒看到的一切都是獨立的，沒有跟墻連在一起。我們放書的書柜全都獨立于墻體。”為了保持空間中的對稱平衡感，兩側都加設了稍矮的桌子來擺放暢銷書和新書，當然，書店的后面還開有一個小咖啡館，供讀者放松和喝杯熱飲。 書店在網(wǎng)上也引起了不少關注。《十字路口》雜志在2006年秋天書店開業(yè)時拍攝的照片成為其瀏覽量最大的頁面。此外，互聯(lián)網(wǎng)搜索顯示，日本還有不少人對這家書店很感興趣。 談到荷蘭人的閱讀習慣，雷默斯解釋道：“我覺得荷蘭人都非常喜歡看書，而且看的書都很雜。探案小說極受歡迎。”他補充說，“我們的英語書也賣得很好。按我看，這是因為有不少人都來自馬斯特里赫特大學，他們都傾向于多讀些英文書籍。” 荷蘭人、學生們和移居此地的人無疑形成了馬斯特里赫特市獨特而富有活力的閱讀文化氛圍。他們現(xiàn)在都恰如其分地找到了一處聚集在一起的絕妙地盤。 （來源：英語學習雜志）
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Vocabulary: 1. congregation: 教眾聚會，集會。 2. Dominican: （天主教修會）多明我會的。多明我會是由西班牙天主教修士圣多明我于1215年在法國圖盧茲創(chuàng)建，又稱布道兄弟會，1217年獲教皇批準在羅馬設總會。 3. fanfare: 喇叭、號角等的響亮吹奏聲。 4. friar: 修道士。 5. annex: 侵占，吞并。 6. Crossroads: 《十字路口》雜志，是馬斯特里赫特市本地的一本知名雜志。 |
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