DISCOVER MAASTRICHT

Maastricht is a municipality, and capital of the province of Limburg. The city is situated on both sides of the Meuse river (Maas in Dutch) in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands between Belgium and Germany. The name of city is derived from its Latin name Trajectum Ad Mosam (Mosa-crossing), referring to the bridge built by the Romans under the reign of Augustus Caesar.

View over the river Maas to the old town of Maastricht

For years, the city has been arguing with Nijmegen as to which of them is the oldest city in the Netherlands. Nijmegen was the first city with Roman city rights in what is now the Netherlands. Maastricht was the first with Medieval city rights, a system which evolved to the current system and, thanks to the Romans, the first settlement with city allure. However, Maastricht was without a doubt the first settlement in the Netherlands.

Roman sources mention a Celtic (probably inhabited by the Eburones ) settlement at the location they used for the bridge. Other sources mention a Celtic settlement at a rivercrossing near where now Wyck is located.

Institutions located in Maastricht include the Universiteit Maastricht (Maastricht University), the Administration of the Dutch province of Limburg and the Bonnefanten Museum of art. Other large employers include ENCI (First Dutch Cement Industry) Vodafone, Mercedes-Benz, Sappi, Hewlett-Packard (previously Indigo) and Pie Medical.

To the south of the city is the hill of St. Pietersberg which has an old fort and a network of caves within. The caves maintain a constant temperature of 10°C and are a hibernation place for bats. The caves were formed by digging out the Marl that was used to build houses. This led to a very extensive network of caves that were used as hiding places during World War II. Later, the marl was used by ENCI to make cement. In the process a large chunk was removed from one side of the hill. The unused material was used to make a new hill, d'n Observant.

In the process of carving out the marl, fossils were found, most notably one of a mosasaur in 1780 (which, contrary to popular belief, was not a dinosaur). The find was so famous it led to naming a 6-million-year epoch after the city: the Maastrichtian.

In football, Maastricht is represented by MVV, currently playing in the Dutch first division.

Discover Maastricht, The Netherlands

HISTORY OF MAASTRICHT

Old stone age remains have been found to the west of Maastricht, between 80.000 and 250.000 years old. At least 500 years before the Romans came, Celts lived here, at a spot where the river Meuse was shallow and therefore easy to cross. The Romans later built a bridge and a large road to connect the capitals of the Nervians and Tungri, Bavay and Tongeren, with the capital of the Ubians, Cologne.

Saint Servatius was the first bishop of the Netherlands. His tomb, in the crypt at the Basilica of Saint Servatius, is a favoured place of pilgrimage: Pope John Paul II visited it in 1984. The golden gilt shrine containing some of the saint's relics is carried around the town every seven years. During the medieval period these processions caused such rioting that they were forbidden. The city remained an early Christian bishopric until it lost this position to nearby Liège in the 8th century.

Maastricht developed in the Middle Ages into a city of dual authority, with both the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and the Duchy of Brabant holding joint sovereignty over the city. It received city rights in 1204. The role of the Dukes was occupied by the Dutch States General from 1632 onwards when the city was taken from the Spanish by Frederik Hendrik. This duality remained in force until the conquest and annexation of the city by the French in 1794.

Skeletons uncovered in a front garden in Maastricht in May 2004 may be the remains of musketeers who died during a fierce 17th century battle between French attackers and Dutch defenders.

On 14 June 1673, Louis XIV's troops started to surround the city of Maastricht. Under the leadership of Captain-Lieutenant Charles de Batz-Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan, the First Company of "Mousquetaires du Roi" prepared to storm a rampart located in front of one of the city's gates. The assault on the bulwark took place not far from where the seven skeletons were found. D'Artagnan was killed by a musket shot on 25 June 1673 during a night attack on the Tongerse Gate (this event was portrayed by Alexandre Dumas in his novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne).

Maastricht surrendered to French troops on 30 June. The French troops occupied the Dutch city from 1673 to 1679. It was subsequently restored to Dutch rule.

After the Napoleonic era, Maastricht became a part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. When the southern provinces sought independence from the North to form Belgium in 1830, the garrison in Maastricht remained loyal to the Dutch king and occupied the city despite anti-Dutch feelings amongst the population. Maastricht was neither Dutch nor Belgian between 1830 and 1839. In 1839 the Treaty of London was imposed on the Belgians and the city and the eastern part of Limburg, despite being geographically and culturally closer to Belgium, were permanently added to the Netherlands.

Because of the resulting eccentric location Maastricht was often more focused on Belgium and Germany than on the rest of the Netherlands, adding to the distinct non-Dutch character of the city. Even now, the people of Maastricht (and the rest of Limburg) hold on to their language and culture, and some even hope to be re-united with Limburgian areas in Germany and Belgium.

On September 14, 1944, Maastricht was the first Dutch city to be liberated by allied forces during World War II.

In 1976, Maastricht became part of the Euregio Maas-Rhine.

In 1992, the Maastricht treaty was signed here, leading to the creation of the Euro.

Especially under current mayor Gerd Leers, Maastricht attracted many summits, like the OCSE-summit in 2003, and several gatherings during the Dutch EU-chairmanship in the second half of 2004.

Discover Maastricht, The Netherlands

TRANSPORTATION

BY CAR: Maastricht is served by the A2 and the A79 highways. The city can be reached from Brussels and Cologne (Köln) within 1½ hours and from Amsterdam within 2½ hours. The A2 highway that runs through Maastricht is heavily congested and increasingly causes air pollution in the urban area. Construction plans for building a tunnel in order to improve traffic flow are currently being developed.

BY BUS: Masstricht is easily reachable from Aachen, Germany by bus number 420.

BY TRAIN: the Nederlandse Spoorwegen serves both the main station of Maastricht and the station located near the business and university district (Maastricht Randwyck). A railway branch passes through Maastricht that runs south to Liège, Belgium and north into the rest of The Netherlands, where it has a branch to Heerlen. Intercity trains to the northern city of Haarlem connect Maastricht with Eindhoven, Utrecht and Amsterdam, amongst others. Express and commuter trains cover the regional area, including an international train to Liège. Another railway line to Hasselt, Belgium is no longer in use, although plans exist to restore it.

BY AIRPLANE: Maastricht is served by Maastricht Aachen Airport with scheduled flights to Amsterdam, Berlin and Bucharest as well as popular holiday destinations during the Summer season.

Maastricht has a river port on the Meuse, and is connected with the rest of the Netherlands through the Juliana Canal and the Zuid-Willemsvaart.

From Wikipedia.org, the Free Encyclopedia

See Also