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Maastricht is a unique city and breathes a characteristic flamboyant atmosphere. The versatile Maastricht architecture will strike anybody setting foot in Maastricht for the first time. The medieval town rampart and -pavings of alleys and streets, seventeenth century facades and a Roman bridge.

Although excavations have shown that the Maastricht region was already populated in prehistory, the City of Maastricht was established in the years of the Roman Empire. The name `Maastricht` is a Dutch corruption of the Roman 'Mosae Trajectum'. 'Trajectum means river crossing and is corrupted into the Dutch 'tricht'. Looking for a place to cross the Meuse River, they chose Maastricht, to the north of the vast Ardennes. Here, the river was not to wide and certainly not to deep. They built a bridge at the place of the current Servaas bridge. Camps at both sides of the river protected it. The main camp was at the current city centre-side and the smaller camp at the other side of the bridge through the years developed into the `Wyck´quarter.

The great immigration at the start of the fourth century marked the end of the Roman Period. Cristianity had developed quite strongly and the authority over the City of Maastricht fell into the hands of Bishop Servatius, the first Maastricht bishop. He would be the first of about twenty bishops ruling the City of Maastricht. The St. Servatius gravestone in the St. Servatius basilica located at the square which is now the Vrijthof, was built only a few centuries after the death of St. Servatius by two of his successors. Alongside the St. Servatius basilica is the St. John. Although the St. John is now protestant, it was meant as an annex building to the St. Servatius, because the St. Servatius Basilica was becoming too crowded from all the visiting pilgrims.

At the beginning of the eighth century, Maastricht was more than just a spiritual and cultural centre, but also an trade centre. The Servatian Bridge was the last span over the Meuse River before it spills into the sea. This made Maastricht actually a seaport. In the Basilica of Our Blessed Lady, you still can light a candle for the statue of the Virgin Mary ´Star of the Sea´, Patron of the Skippers. In about 1220, Maastricht obtained the privileges of a town and in these feudal period was governed by two Gentlemen, the Prince-Bishop of Liège and the Duke of Brabant. These two gentlemen hindered Maastricht in her development. None of them saw Maastricht as a city of rule and trade, because of the presence of the 'other gentleman'.

The Eighty Years´ War did not pass by Maastricht, as access to The Netherlands, unnoticed. Despite her ingenious defenses such as the casemates, Maastricht was looted and captured by the Spaniards in 1579. This happened after Maastricht was under siege for some months. The inhabitants of Wyck resisted by vainly dismounting the wooden structure of the St. Servatius bridge. As a consequence, the Spaniards drove the fleeing Maastricht population into the river and many of them drowned. Because Holland decided not to pursue the campaign at the end of the Eighty Years´ War any further, the southern Netherlands (now Belgium) were not to become a part of the

Seven United Provinces.

After Napoleon's empire had collapsed, Maastricht, after a few clashes, in 1814 came under the rule of William I. Under the Orange rule, Maastricht became the capital of a district and a canton, and obtained their own military authority. A road was constructed that connected Maastricht with Aachen, Tongeren and Verviers, and canals were dug. Later, railway connections were made with

Aachen, Hasselt, Brussels and Liège.

The city was not growing as fast as surrounding cities. There was an exodus of intellectuals, first to Belgium and later to the north. Many people stayed where they had studied, which was bad for Maastricht development. Only a hundred years ago, Maastricht was no fortress any longer and started to expand beyond the town ramparts. It incorporated villages as Scharn, Heugem and Amby and thereby expanded quite strongly. Maastricht currently has a population of about a 122,000 inhabitants.

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