The City of Maastricht

As noted on the first page, Maastricht has a population of approximately 125,000 - a little smaller than Little Rock, Arkansas. Yet, it is much more compact so it is rather easy to get around, especially with the local bus system. The western part of the city is on the Belgium border (about a thirty-minute walk from campus) and the eastern part of the city is about 20 miles from the German border. Maastricht is 2 1/2 hours south of Amsterdam by train or 40 minutes by plane. Liege, Belgium, is about 30 miles south and Paris, France, is about 2 1/2 hours to the south. The next few pictures are of central Maastricht.
This is the Central Train Station in Maastricht. It is located on the east side of the River Maas, about 1 1/2 miles from UCAN. It is a very important place because most of our weekend travel experiences originate here or at a nearby bus stop.
Behind the station above, is the location where we board trains for Liege, Brussels, Paris, and Amsterdam. The train system is very efficient and they DO leave on time!
This is the River Maas, which flows northward many miles before turning west toward the North Sea. The Sint Servaas bridge is the oldest in the city and replaced an old Roman bridge. Maastricht is on the site of an old Roman settlement.
This photo shows the east bank of the River Maas and the east end of the bridge. The bridge, by-the-way, is primarily a pedestrian and bike bridge.
These are more buildings on the east bank of the River Maas. Note that most of the buildings are four stories or more high and rather narrow. This is typical of buildings we have seen thus far.
This is across the river on the west bank. The path just in front of me is the bike path. Riding bikes is very popular in the Netherlands so most streets have parallel paths for bikes and motor scooters. At one intersection, I counted seven bikes and one car waiting for the light to change.
Many European cities date back to Medieval times. Those parts of modern cities can be identified by very narrow streets. Here is one of them in Maastricht. Over the years, this street has become the most expensive shopping street in Maastricht. I guess I won't go there very often.
Like most other European Cities, Maastricht if full of huge churches. Maastricht is in that part of Europe that was not impacted heavily by the Protestant Reformation, so it is strongly Roman Catholic. This Catholic church is just off the main square in downtown Maastricht. It might also be said that like other European countries, the Netherlands is generally a secular country. While the city has many large, beautiful chruches, they are essentially empty on Sunday.
This, the Basilica of Our Lady, is the oldest Catholic church in Maastricht. It dates back to the 10th century. One of our students was able to attend mass in this building the first Saturday we were in Maastricht. We have been told that this square, the Square of Our Lady, is a place that during warm weather, university students love to hang out.
On the east side of the main square in Maastricht is a long row of cafes and restaurants. Even in January people were eating outside at tables on the sidewalk. The weather is rather moderate right now, but each cafe has heaters that keep the patrons warm. I can see that this will be a pleasant place to be when the weather gets a little warmer.
This is Maastricht's Town Hall or Stadhuis. Around it is the Market Square where each Friday morning fruit, meat, clothing, fish, and other products are sold from scores of stalls.
This is a street scene adjacent to Market Square which is near the City Hall. People are walking and riding everywhere.
This is another large Catholic church about a mile west of downtown. It is rather close to UCAN so if we walk to or from town, we walk pass this building. I have been told that it is now vacant and for sale.
Farther away from the center of the city you get a better picture of how people live in the suburbs. In this part of the city (in the west-central near the university), there are duplexes like those shown here and apartment buildings.
The apartment building on the right of this photo is typical for this part of the city (near the university). The street is interesting, however. Immediately adjacent to the sidewalk is the bicycle lane. Next to the bicycle lane is the bus lane. The inner two lanes are for cars. The other side of the street also has bus and bicycle lanes. Up the street a ways, adjacent to the sidewalk, is a bus stop.

Go Back to Gateway

Return to Home Page