Welcome to the Virtual Tour of Medieval Maastricht
The Romans, who built a settlement near a ford in the Maas River, named that settlement “Maastricht.” The
name comes from
the Latin, “Trajectum ad Mosam,” or “crossing of the Maas.”
Maastricht is, therefore,
one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, if not the oldest.
The map at left was created by overlaying a piece of paper on a contemporary map of Maastricht then making minor adjustments to make it appear as it did in early
drawings.
Five modern features are shown for reference only. Those four features are
(1) the
railroad, (2) the railroad station and nearby streets, (3) a portion of
Statensingel and
the Noorderbrug, (4) the Bisschops-singel and the John F. Kennedybrug, and (5) the Roundabout on Brusselsestraat.
Everything else on the map is located where it was between 1229 and 1581. This tour
will be of the
city wall as it existed in 1229.
If you are ready for the tour, click on the map and let’s go back to 1229 and walk the city wall!
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