​MAASTRICHT, orMaestricht, a frontier town and thecapital of the province of Limburg, Holland, on the left bankof the Maas at the influx of the river Geer, 19 m. by rail N.N.E.of Liége in Belgium. Pop. (1904), 36,146. A small portion ofthe town, known as Wyk, lies on the right bank. A stonebridge connecting the two replaced a wooden structure as earlyas 1280, and was rebuilt in 1683. Formerly a strong fortress,Maastricht is still a considerable garrison town, but its rampartswere dismantled in 1871–1878. The town-hall, built by PieterPost and completed in 1683, contains some interesting picturesand tapestry. The old town-hall (Oud Stadhuis), a Gothicbuilding of the 15th century, is now used as a museum ofantiquities. The church of St Servatius is said to have beenfounded by Bishop Monulphus in the 6th century, thus beingthe oldest church in Holland; according to one account itwas rebuilt and enlarged as early as the time of Charlemagne.The crypt with the tomb of the patron saint dates from theoriginal building. The varied character of its late Romanesqueand later Gothic architecture bears evidence of the frequencywith which the church has been restored and altered. Overthe porch is the fine emperor’s hall, and the church has amarble statue of Charlemagne. The church of Our Lady, alate Romanesque building, has two ancient crypts and a 13th-centurychoir of exceptional beauty, but the nave sufferedseverely from a restoration in 1764. The present Gothicbuilding of St Martin (in Wyk) was erected in 1859; theoriginal church is said by tradition to have occupied the siteof an old heathen temple. The Protestant St Janskerk, aGothic building of the 13th and 15th centuries, with a finetower, was formerly the baptistery of the cathedral. Thevarious hospitals, the poor-house, the orphanage and most ofthe other charitable foundations are Roman Catholic institutions.Maastricht contains the provincial archives, a library andgeological collections. Though mainly indebted for its commercialprosperity to its position on the river, the town didnot begin to reap the full advantages of its situation till theopening of the railways between 1853 and 1865. At first atrade was carried on in wine, colonial wares, alcoholic liquorsand salt; there are now manufactures of earthenware, glass andcrystal, arms, paper, woollens, tools, lead, copper and zinc work,as well as breweries, and tobacco and cigar factories, and a tradein corn and butter.

A short distance south of Maastricht are the great sandstonequarries of Pietersberg, which were worked from the time of theRomans to near the end of the 19th century; the result is one ofthe most extraordinary subterranean labyrinths in the world,estimated to cover an area 15 m. by 9 m. In the time of theSpanish wars these underground passages served to hide thepeasants and their cattle.

Maastricht was originally thetrajectus superior (upper ford)of the Romans, and was the seat of a bishop from 382 to 721.Having formed part of the Frankish realm, it was ruled after1204 jointly by the dukes of Brabant and the prince-bishopsof Liége. In 1579 it was besieged by the Spaniards under theduke of Parma, being captured and plundered after a heroicresistance. It was taken by the French in 1673, 1748 and1794.