10 Interesting Facts About Maastricht, Netherlands

Looking for facts about Maastricht? You’ve come to the right blogpost! It’s always nice when living, working or visiting a city to know some local facts for better understanding. Learning facts about a location is also fun to find more interesting things that the city is known for. Looking up some simple facts will also help you learn more about the city itself, such as its history or why things are like they are. Maastricht is a very magical location, so we hope this interesting information and local facts will help you see why!

10 Interesting Facts About Maastricht

1. Did you know Maastricht is the oldest city in the Netherlands?

That’s right! Maastricht is the oldest city in the Netherlands, founded by the Roman Empire. The city is mentioned in ancient documents dating back to 575 – 1051.

2. The city center is full of curved roads to avoid attacks

For this fact we are going back in time. When Maastricht was built, it was a fully fortified city with the old city walls still visible today in places. If all roads and streets were straight, this would have been very easy to attack in the past. So it might be very beautiful today, walking the curvy roads in the city center with cute cobblestones and trees. But it played a very important feature in the past.

3. The province capital of Limburg is Maastricht.

Okay this one might have been an easy one, but each of the 12 provinces in the Netherlands has a capital city. For Limburg this is the city of Maastricht – so you can technically say that you live in the capital!

4. During the German invasion in 1940, famous Dutch paintings were hidden in the caves at Sint Pietersberg

You might be surprised to know that this also includes the world famous The Night Watch, painted by Rembrandt van Rijn, now hung proudly in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

5. There are over 400 bars and restaurants!

If you fancy something specific for dinner, you can likely find it in Maastricht. From top culinary delights to cheap eats, there is something for everyone.

6. Maastricht is the birthplace of the EURO

In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty was signed, which led to the creation of the European Union and the euro. This was the result of European councils meeting in Maastricht back in 1981 and 1991.

7. The Maas river passing through Maastricht comes from France

The river flowing past and through our city is the River Maas, also known as Meuse. This river is 925 km long and starts in France, before making its way though Belgium to us in the Netherlands. It heads all the way to the North Sea via Roermond, Venlo and Den Bosch.

8. Maastricht has 1677 National Heritage buildings

This is mostly due to all the historical nature of the city and surrounding areas. Many buildings standing today have been around for centuries, each having character and a unique story to share. Maastricht is 2nd top with the total of 1677 national heritage buildings, with Amsterdam being 1st in the country.

9. There are just over 121,000 residents in Maastricht!

Thats right! We are part of that statistic if you are reading this from your home while living in Maastricht. Out of 17.5 million total residents in the Netherlands, Maastricht has just above 121,000 in total. We are, of course pretty spread out, as Maastricht has a total of 5 districts with 44 neighbourhoods.

10. You are a Maastrichtenaar!

An official resident of Maastricht is referred to as Maastrichtenaar, which sounds rather magical! It can also be said as Mestreechteneer if you use the local dialect in Dutch. There is also Limburgish, a local dialect for the whole province too. So it might get a bit confusing when learning Dutch!

11. BONUS FACT: You can easily cycle to Belgium within 3 km / 1.8 miles distance from the city center!

That’s right, we are living literally 10-15mins away from Belgium, depending on your cycling speed. So if you fancy a day trip to another city, it sure wont take you long to cross the border.