The Buurkerk has always been the largest and wealthiest parish church in Utrecht, which is why so many famous people have were buried here over the centuries. Unfortunately, the church is largely hidden by surrounding buildings and it can therefore only be seen clearly from a few locations. Since 1984 this former house of worship has been the National Museum Speelklok (from Musical Clock to Street Organ). It was the oldest of the town’s four medieval parish churches and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The Buurkerk most likely originated in the tenth century in the Stathe trade quarter, but the church was burned to the ground no less than four times in subsequent city fires. After the last fire, a new church arose: an early Gothic basilica, of which the characteristic 56m-high tower still exists.