The decline of the Maastricht pilgrimage in the 16th century was a result of the Protestant Reformation, as well as the ensuing wars of religion and outbreaks of the plague. This affected Maastricht as much as many other places in north-western Europe. The 1489 and 1552 pilgrimages were cancelled due to threat of war. During the Siege of Maastricht (1579) the three "heavenly cloths" went missing, whereas the reliquary bust of Saint Servatius was largely destroyed. Maastricht became a heavily defended Catholic bulwark. By 1608 attendance to the pilgrimage had dropped to 13,000. After the Capture of Maastricht by the Protestant Dutch Republic in 1632, a ban on processions and other religious manifestations in public was issued, meaning the end of the traditional "Heiligdomsvaart". The pilgrimages of 1655 and 1662 took place inside the Church of Saint Servatius. After 1706 no septennial pilgrimages took place until the revival of the tradition in the 19th century.