First established by the Romans over 2050 years ago, Maastricht has long been considered to be the oldest city in the Netherlands. Reminders of the towns’ history are all around you upon visiting. Approximately 500 years before the Romans arrived, Celts colonised the area. 

Fortress Town

The city has a history as an important fortress town, over which many long and bloody battles were fought.  Reminders of this history are everywhere - The old city walls, Roman excavations, the St. Servaas Bridge. Maastricht once served as a Roman border checkpoint post, a city of pilgrimage and a medieval fortified military city and is where the Dutch Industrial Revolution began.  

City Walls

The remains of two of the cities walls from the 13th and 14th centuries, as well as a fortress gateway, the "Helpoort", ("Gateway of Hell") which used to be a prison at one time are still in evidence in Maastricht. Situated close to the town is the famous Fort Sint Pieter, built in the 17th century to keep the French armies out, although this was not always successful.

Saint Servaas Church

The main square of Maastricht known as 'the Vrijthof' houses the oldest and most famous church in the Netherlands. The original church, named after the city’s patron saint, was built in the 6th century but has been subsequently destroyed and then rebuilt many times until the present Romanesque Church was built. The shrine of Saint Servatius, the first Bishop of the Netherlands, is situated here and as such Maastricht has long been the focus of religious pilgrimages. It's impressive and rather grand old several storey high buildings that can still be seen and admired around Vrijthof serve as testament to the city's rich history.

Notes of interest

Maastricht has long been recognised the world over as being a centre of government. The Treaty on European Union was signed by the heads of government in the city in February 1992.

‘Must sees’ in the town are the the old town and its St Servaasbasiliek monument (see above), the gothic St Janskerk church and the city’s oldest building, the Onze Lieve Vrouwebasiliek which dates back to the year 1100 and is built upon Roman remains.

An interesting and little known historical fact about this city is that in 1673 the fourth musketeer D’Artagnan, was reputedly killed while leading an attack upon the city’s fortified walls.

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