#helpoort

[intermerker]

Quelle

[road-heart]

Maastricht, the Netherlands, with Helpoort (Hell’s Gate) from 1229 - the oldest gate in Europe. | Photos by S.C.

[imaginationtakesyoueverywhere]

Gate at Maastricht, the Netherlands. Its name is Helpoort, literally translated that would be Hellgate. Sound creepy, but Maastricht is a really nice city.

[bridgesofmaastricht]

Sunday, 31.05.2015

Dear family,

Maastricht is rich in beauty, culture, and history.

Today, I show some world famous buildings and spots around town.

Click on one picture to enlarge. A gallery will pop up with captions that provide you with additional information about the sights.

If you are still hungry for more, there are about 1.600 rijksmonumenten or national heritage sights. Here is the list for Maastricht. If you do not like lists, the tourist office made a short video with all the highlights in and around the city: “Maastricht: Star amongst the cities”.

Best wishes, Paul

Some more history:

The area was home to Neanderthals and to humans in the Stone Age.

Celtic settlements have been unearthed and are over 2500 years old. 

The Romans built a bridge to connect their empire and move troups. Jona Lendering writes that the bridge was the "reason to be” in regard of the city: “Maastricht (Traiectum ad Mosam) can be added to this list [of Roman bridges]. Although it is not mentioned on the Peutinger Map, the crossing of the Meuse must have been an important place. Again, the earliest finds belong to 30-20 BCE, and although the bridge has not yet been investigated dendrochronologically, it may well belong to the earliest monuments of this town - in fact, its raison d'être.” (Livius.org).

This area was the place where the Franks invaded what should become France in the 5th century.

Maastricht received city rights in 1204. 

Since the Roman times, Maastricht has been a place of war and remained an important bridge in the heart of Europe, a bridge across the Meuse river and across neighboring countries.

"Nowadays, it is known as an especially cultured city (including local folklore) and education. Maastricht's rich history shows from the fact that in this town no fewer than 1677 national heritage sites (Rijksmonumenten) are located, which is the second highest number in a Dutch town, after Amsterdam. Furthermore, it has become known, by way of the Maastricht Treaty, as the birthplace of the European Union, European citizenship, and the single European currency, the euro." (Wikipedia)

Below the building where the treaty has been signed.

[tibaert]

Maastricht - Jeker

Maastricht – Jeker

Sint Pietersbrug over de Jeker – omstreeks 1910

Aan twee rivieren heeft Maastricht zijn ontstaan en ontwikkeling te danken, de Maas en de Jeker. De snelstromende Jeker leverde in de Middeleeuwen het water en de waterkracht voor de leerlooierijen. In de hedendaagse straatnamen klinkt die geschiedenis nog door.

Jeker bij de Champs Elyséeweg St.Pieter – 1898

Als opmaat naar een nieuwe opzet van al…

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Helpoort on Flickr.