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'Maastricht' (Dutch (), Limburgish and city dialect: ''Mestreech'') 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 place-name is derived from its Latin name ''Trajectum Ad Mosam'' or ''Mosae Trajectum'' (Mosa-crossing), referring to the bridge built by the Romans during the reign of Augustus Caesar.
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 undoubtedly the first settlement in the Netherlands.
Roman sources mention a Celtic settlement (probably inhabited by the Eburones) at the location they used for the bridge. Other sources mention a Celtic settlement at a river crossing near where Wyck is now located.

Contents

History

Middle Ages

French & Napoleonic times

Part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands

20th century

Neighborhoods

Museums

Sights

Other

History

Paleolithic remains have been found to the west of Maastricht, between 8000 and 25 000 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.

Middle Ages

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.

French & Napoleonic times

Seven 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.

Part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands

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.

20th century

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 European Union.

Neighborhoods

Maastricht can be divided into 7 parts consisting of multiple neighborhoods:
# 'Centrum' (''Centre''); Binnenstad, Boschstraatkwartier, Jekerkwartier, Kommelkwartier, Statenkwartier, Sint Maartenspoort, Wyck.
# 'Buitenwijk Noord-Oost' (''North-Eastern sections''); Beatrixhaven, Borgharen, Itteren, Meerssenhoven.
# 'Buitenwijk Oost' (''Eastern sections''); Amby, Heugemerveld, Limmel, Nazareth, Scharn, Wittevrouwenveld, Wyckerpoort.
# 'Buitenwijk Zuid-Oost' (''South-Eastern sections''); De Heeg, Heer, Heugem, Randwyck, Vroendaal.
# 'Buitenwijk Zuid-West' (''South-Western sections''); Biesland, Campagne, Jekerdal, Sint Pieter, Villapark, Wolder.
# 'Buitenwijk West' (''Western sections''); Belfort, Brusselsepoort, Caberg, Daalhof, Dousberg-Hazendans, Malberg, Malpertuis, Mariaberg, Oud-Caberg, Pottenberg.
# 'Buitenwijk Noord-West' (''North-Western sections''); Belvédère, Boschpoort, Bosscherveld, Frontenkwartier, Lanakerveld).
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The mayor of Maastricht is the Christian Democrat Gerd Leers. His party, the CDA, became the largest party in the city council after the 2002 municipal elections, when they made up the coalition together with PvdA, VVD and GroenLinks.
One issue that brought Maastricht in the news in 2005 and 2006 was the cannabis supply of coffeeshops. Under the gedoogbeleid the sale of cannabis is allowed under certain conditions, but the supply is not, resulting in an impossible situation. The police keep on tracking down plantations, but that just results in more and more plantations being set up, including many in attics of houses in 'ordinary streets', thus bringing small children in contact with illegal activities. Mayor Leers therefore proposed to let the government take over the growing, striking, in his opinion, a blow to the criminal scene. But the Netherlands are bound by international laws and a complication for Maastricht is its proximity to neighbouring countries, making it a major destination for drug tourism.

★ 'By airplane'; Maastricht is served by Maastricht Aachen Airport with scheduled flights to Alicante [as of November 14, 2007], Amsterdam, Girona, Valencia [as of October 31, 2007] and popular holiday destinations (e.g. Turkey) during the Summer season.

★ 'By boat'; 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.

★ 'By bus'; In Maastricht various buslines serve the majority of the city and suburbs. The regional bus network stretches to most of parts of Southern-Limburg as well as to Belgium (Hasselt, Tongeren and Liège) and Germany (Aachen)

Museums

★ Bonnefanten Museum of art.

★ Natuurhistorisch Museum which exhibits collections relating to geology, paleontology and the flora and fauna of Limburg.

Sights

★ Bassin, an inner harbour with various restaurants.

★ The Helpoort and the city wall.

★ The Hoge Fronten (also ''Linie van du Moulin''), 17th/18th century bastion.

★ The Kazematten, the tunnels beneath the Hoge Fronten.

★ The Markt (Marketsquare) with the city hall.

★ Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe square with the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw basilica.

★ 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.

★ The statue of d'Artagnan in the Aldenhofpark.

★ Various shopping streets e.g. the Stokstraatkwartier, the Grote Staat & Kleine Staat and the recently restored mall Entre Deux.

★ Vrijthof square, with the Vrijthoftheatre (''Theater aan het Vrijthof''), the Saint Servatius basilica (''Sint-Servaasbasiliek'') and the Saint Johns church (''Sint-Janskerk'').

Other

★ MosaeGusto!, a 3.500 m² fine food market located within the Mosae Forum shopping centre opening in September 2007.