THE NETHERLANDS : MAASTRICHT
The Netherland's oldest city, Maastricht sits at the bottom end of
the Dutch province of Limburg between Belgium and Germany.
Maastricht, or Mosae Trajectum, was
founded by the Romans two thousand years ago along the military and
trade route between Gaul, now France, and the military reinforcements
along the Rhine. Further north in Limburg is the town of
Roermond, an important
cultural and artistic centre dominated by the superb Munsterkerk.
The people of Maastricht have a reputation for knowing how to have a
good time. The city has more bars
per capita rating than any other city in The Netherlands. As you would
expect with their nearest neighbours being Belgium and Germany the
choice of beers is simply incredible with some bars having as many as 90
different brews on offer. The nightlife is generally lively with clubs
and discos staying open until 2.00am to 5.00am. Also, eating out in
Maastricht is a great experience. There are some
wonderful restaurants serving probably the very best cuisine that
The Netherlands has to offer.
Maastricht has more than 1450 monuments
and historic buildings which, after Amsterdam, is more than in any other
city in the Netherlands. The city square known as the Vrijthof has great
historical significance, flanked to the west by the
Basilica of St.
Servatius, the oldest church in the country and named after Maastricht's
patron saint. The shrine of St. Servatius was for centuries the focus of
pilgrimages from allover Europe. Charlemagne (742-814) also went on
pilgrimages here from his residence near Aachen, and Charles V
(1500-1558) of ten stayed at the Spanish Government House, also located
in Vrijthof square.
Maastricht was equally significant as a fortified city. Napoleon and
Czar Peter the Great of Russia came to admire the fortifications.
The city's name is forever linked to the Maastricht Treaty
(1991), one of the most
important treaties within the process of European unification. Maastricht
is indeed a city with a European vocation and
orientation. In recent
decades, the city has developed into one of the new European centres
with, among other things, a large number of international institutes in
the fields of public administration, medical technology, the labour
market and communications. National governments, the European Union, the
United Nations, academic centres, and large organizations all make use
of the singular knowledge network present in Maastricht. Limburg's
provincial capital has also gained an international reputation as a
conference centre, particularly due to the facilities offered by the
Maastricht Exhibition & Congress Centre (MECC). Maastricht has twice
been the venue for a European Summit of EU leaders.
Maastricht has several festivals
each year. The Easter Festival is essentially a celebration of music of
all kinds and draws musicians and dancers from the UK and USA as well as
all over the Netherlands. Preuvenement is a food festival that takes
place during 4 days in August. The most important date on the festive
calendar, however, is Carnaval. Like Mardi Gras this takes place during
the days leading up to lent.
History of Maastricht
In 50 BC when the Romans recognized the strategic importance of a
town at the junction of major trading routes and established Mosae
Trajectum (i.e. : "crossing the river Meuse"). This settlement grew to become a walled
"castellum", which was
abandoned towards the end of the 4th century.
From the end of the 4th to the beginning of the 8th century, Maastricht
was a bishop’s diocese. St. Servatius, who died in 384, was the first
and St. Lambertus the last bishop. The latter transferred the bishop’s
diocese to Liege.
Until 1795, the Duke of Brabant and the Prince-Bishop of Liege jointly
ruled Maastricht. The rights and privileges of both lords temporal and
ecclesiastical were laid down in the so-called “Alde Caerte” (1284).
Maastricht flourished in the 13th to 15th century, mainly due to the
expanding cloth industry. Before long the town was perceived to be too
cramped, and at the beginning of the 14th century construction work on a
new series of walls was commenced.
The city was one of the strongest European fortresses in order to defend
it against attacks from the South. The town had to endure 19 sieges (by
Austria, Spain and France) with differing outcomes. Louis XIV, the
famous Sun King of France, personally led the siege of Maastricht in
1673. The most recent siege was that of 1794. During 1795, the occupying
French forces took drastic measures, making Maastricht the capital of a
French province.
After Napoleon’s defeat at
Waterloo, 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 in 1839 the city and the eastern
part of Limburg, despite being geographically 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.
