The Sint-Amelbergakerk is an early Romanesque cruciform basilica with a westwork and an external crypt. Several churches from the Essen-Werden region served as models for the church, which dates from around 1060. The Romanesque capitals in the church of Susteren and in the Sint-Medarduskerk in Wessem also show similarities with Essen and Werden. The 11th-century exterior crypt is unique in the Netherlands, but was extensively restored in the 19th century.
The westwork of the church dates from the 12th century and was originally almost identical to that of the church of the Essen Abbey, consisting of a central building with an eight-sided tower and two lower, flanking stair turrets. This setup has not been retained; even before the church was restored in the years 1885-91, the middle building had disappeared and one of the towers had been raised. The current layout dates from the restoration and was designed after French examples. The church now has a double tower front, in which there are some old bells: the largest bell, with a diameter of 1 meter, dates from 1309 and was cast by P. van Sittert; a smaller bell from 1608 belongs to the Nuremberg bell founder Hans Falck.