Maastricht

Sister cities

• Chengdu
• Liège
• Koblenz

History

Maastricht is mentioned in ancient documents as [Ad] Treiectinsem [urbem] ab. 575, Treiectensis in 634, Triecto, Triectu in 7th century, Triiect in 768–781, Traiecto in 945, Masetrieth in 1051. The place name Maastricht is an Old Dutch compound Masa- (> Maas "the Meuse river") + Old Dutch *treiekt, itself borrowed from Gallo-Romance *TRA(I)ECTU cf. its Walloon name li trek, from Classical Latin trajectus ("ford, passage, place to cross a river") with the later addition of Maas "Meuse" to avoid the confusion with the -trecht of Utrecht having exactly the same original form and etymology. The Latin name first appears in medieval documents and it is not known whether was Maastricht's name during Roman times. A resident of Maastricht is referred to as Maastrichtenaar while in the local dialect it is either Mestreechteneer or, colloquially, Sjeng (derived from the formerly popular French name Jean). Neanderthal remains have been found to the west of Maastricht (Belvédère excavations). Of a later date are Palaeolithic remains, between 8,000 and 25,000 years old. Celts lived here around 500 BC, at a spot where the river Meuse was shallow and therefore easy to cross. It is not known when the Romans arrived in Maastricht, nor whether the settlement was founded by them. The Romans built a bridge across the Meuse in the 1st century AD, during the reign of Augustus Caesar. The bridge was an important link in the main road between Bavay and Cologne. Roman Maastricht was relatively small. Remains of the Roman road, the bridge, a religious shrine, a Roman bath, a granary, some houses and the 4th-century castrum walls and gates, have been excavated. Fragments of provincial Roman sculptures, as well as coins, jewelry, glass, pottery and other objects from Roman Maastricht are on…

Geography

Maastricht consists of seven areas (wijken) and 44 neighbourhoods (buurten). Each area and neighbourhood has a number which corresponds to its CBS code. # Maastricht Centrum (CBS area code: 093500): Binnenstad, Jekerkwartier, Kommelkwartier, Statenkwartier, Boschstraatkwartier, Sint Maartenspoort, Wyck-Céramique # South-West (093501): Villapark, Jekerdal, Biesland, Campagne, Wolder, Sint Pieter) # West (093502): Brusselsepoort, Mariaberg, Belfort, Pottenberg, Malpertuis, Caberg, Malberg, Dousberg-Hazendans, Daalhof # North-West (093503): Boschpoort, Bosscherveld, Frontenkwartier, Belvédère, Lanakerveld # North-East (093505): Beatrixhaven, Borgharen, Itteren, Meerssenhoven # East (093504): Wyckerpoort, Wittevrouwenveld, Nazareth, Limmel, Amby, Scharn, Heugemerveld # South-East (093506): Randwyck, Heugem, Heer, De Heeg, Vroendaal Itteren, Borgharen, Limmel, Amby, Heer, Heugem, Scharn, Oud-Caberg, Sint Pieter and Wolder are neighbourhoods that used to be separate municipalities or villages until they were annexed by the city of Maastricht in the course of the 20th century. The outlying areas of the following municipalities are bordering the municipality of Maastricht directly. Clockwise from north-east to north-west: (B = Situated in Belgium) Maastricht's city limits have an international border with Belgium. Most of it borders Belgium's Flemish region, but a small part to the south also has a border with Wallonia. Both countries are part of Europe's Schengen Area and, thus, are open without border controls. Maastricht features the same climate as most of the Netherlands (Cfb, Oceanic climate), however, due to its more inland location in between hills, summers tend to be warmer (especially in the Meuse valley, which lies lower than the meteorological station) and…