Siege of Maastricht (1673)

Maastricht ( MAH-strikht, US also mah-STRIKHT, Dutch: [maːˈstrɪxt] (listen); Limburgish: Mestreech [məˈstʀeːç]; French: Maestricht (archaic); Spanish: Mastrique (archaic)) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the Meuse (Dutch: Maas), at the point where the Jeker joins it. Mount Saint Peter (Sint-Pietersberg) is largely situated within the city's municipal borders. Maastricht is adjacent to the border with Belgium. It is part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, a metropolis with a population of about 3.9 million, which includes the nearby German and Belgian cities of Aachen, Liège and Hasselt. Maastricht developed from a Roman settlement (Trajectum ad Mosam) to a medieval religious centre. In the 16th century it became a garrison town and in the 19th century an early industrial centre. Today, the city is a thriving cultural and regional hub. It became well known through the Maastricht Treaty and as the birthplace of the euro. Maastricht has 1677 national heritage buildings (rijksmonumenten), the second highest number in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam.

The siege of Maastricht (22 September – 4 November 1794) was a successful siege of the city of Maastricht by the forces of the French First Republic led by General of Division (GD) Jean-Baptiste Kléber. The War of the First Coalition action resulted in the surrender of the Coalition garrison commanded by Lieutenant General Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel. The defenders were mostly Habsburg Austrians with a smaller contingent of Dutch Republic soldiers. The Coalition armies in the Austrian Netherlands faced two French armies, one near the North Sea coast and one farther inland. The Coalition armies retreated after the French victory at Fleurus. As the French armies pressed forward, the British and Dutch armies withdrew north while the Austrian army fell back to the east. After another victory over the Austrians, the French army led by GD Jean-Baptiste Jourdan isolated Maastricht and its Coalition garrison. Once Jourdan compelled the Austrian army to retire to the east bank of the Rhine River, he detached Kléber's full siege army to force the fortress' surrender.

The Battle of Maastricht was one of the first battles that took place during the German Campaign on the Western Front during World War II. Maastricht was a key city in order to capture the Belgian Fort Eben-Emael and split the allied armies in half.

Maastricht Institute of Arts (MaIA), formerly known as the Academie Beeldende Kunsten Maastricht (Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts) and the Stadsacademie voor Toegepaste Kunsten (City Academy of Applied Arts), is a cluster of visual arts education from Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in Maastricht. The institute offers higher education in Bachelor of Education, Fine Arts and Design, Communication Design, Architecture and Interior Design, Interdisciplinary Arts, and in Master of Scientific Illustration, Architecture and Interior Design. Since 2020, the institute, in cooperation with the Academies of Music and Theatre, the Jan van Eyck Academy and Maastricht University, has offered the possibility of a doctorate in the visual arts. The institute focuses on the meaning of art as a phenomenon in its own right, with its own insights and laws. The institute is located on Herdenkingsplein and Brusselsestraat in the Brusselsestraat neighbourhood in a building complex dating from the 1960s with a connected extension by Wiel Arets dating from 1993.

The Crosier Monastery or Monastery of the Crutched Friars (Dutch: Kruisherenklooster) is a former monastery of the Order of the Holy Cross in Maastricht, Netherlands. The well-preserved convent buildings house a five-star hotel, the Kruisherenhotel. Having survived more or less in its entirety, it is a rare example in the Netherlands of a Gothic monastery. The buildings from the 15th and 16th century constitute three listed buildings (Rijksmonuments). The more or less intact monastery archive is unique in the Netherlands.

Bistro Chez Jacques is a defunct restaurant in Maastricht, Netherlands. It was a fine dining restaurant that was awarded one Michelin star in 1976 and retained that rating until 1979.Its owner and head chef was Jacques Zeguers.In January 1973, Zeguers was offered a brown bear for his restaurant. Zeguers accepted the bear and served it. Self-styled animal protector and arms dealer Pistolen Paultje (officially Paul Wilking) was not happy with that and threatened to thrash the restaurant when he dared to serve a second bear.

Huis Soiron is a former canon house in the center of the Dutch city of Maastricht. It is located at Grote Gracht 82 in the central neighborhood Statenkwartier and as of 2004 is owned by Maastricht University, which also occupies several nearby properties, including the Hof van Tilly. The building from the late 18th century possesses a number of rooms with lavish stucco work in Louis XVI style and has been a national monument since 1966.

The Sint-Janskerk (Saint John Church) is a Gothic church in the center of the Dutch city of Maastricht. The Protestant Sint-Jan is situated next to the Roman Catholic Basilica of Saint Servatius on the Vrijthof, a unique sight in the Netherlands.

The Basilica of Saint Servatius is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Servatius, in the city of Maastricht, the Netherlands. The architecturally hybrid but mainly Romanesque church is situated next to the Gothic church of Saint John, backing onto the town's main square, Vrijthof.

Vrijthof is a large urban square in the centre of Maastricht, Netherlands. The square developed from an ancient Roman and Frankish cemetery into a semi-private space that belonged to the Collegiate Church of Saint Servatius. In the 19th century it became the town's main square. It is surrounded by important heritage buildings, museums, a theatre and a range of hotels, restaurants and bars. The square is regularly used for public events.

The Van Eyck – Multiform Institute for Fine Art, Design, and Reflection (formerly known as "Jan van Eyck Academie") is a post-academic institute for research and production in the fields of fine art, design and art theory, based in Maastricht, Netherlands. The academy was established in 1948 and was named after the painter Jan van Eyck. In 2013, 39 researches from countries around the world were working and studying at the institutes premises in Jekerkwartier. In 2012, the Hubert van Eyck Academie / Caterina van Hemessen Academie was established as a ‘teaching bridge,’ linking the Jan van Eyck Academie / Margaret van Eyck Academie with Maastricht University and other Maastricht art schools.

Binnenstad (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbɪnə(n)ˌstɑt]; Limburgish: Binnestad [ˈbɪnəˌstɑt]; English: Inner city) is a neighbourhood in Maastricht, Netherlands. Until 2007, it was officially named City. As its name suggests, it is the most centrally located area of Maastricht.