La
Licorne
MAASTRICHT
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A long, looong time ago, the prevailing weather was tropical
in this region. Strange birds flew over high waters which were inhabited by
monstrous animals. With the arrival of a temperate climate, the sea receded and
the animals found a last resting place on the Sint Pietersberg, named after the Gatekeeper of Heaven. Maas
Lizard (Mosasaurus) in action Image
by Charles R Knight, 1899 |
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In the year 57 BC legions of Caesar
marched up against a tribe that lived in the surroundings of this Mount Saint
Peter. Under the rule of their king Ambiorix, the Eburons gave the invaders a
hard time in fierce battles, which was supported by trickery. Ultimately
however, the fight was settled to the advantage of the better equipped
Romans. From that time the Eburons walked out of the history books, but in
recent times made a formidable come back in a series of comics which confirm
their courage and reveal a remarkable sense of humor. Eburons
giving the Romans a hard time After 'Asterix en de Belgen' |
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The Romans provided stability and safety to the region, and a prosperous time followed. At significant traffic junctions settlements developed. Tongeren in present Belgium was the first one of those acquiring Civitas [City] status. At a site north of Mount Saint Peter, where a rivulet the Jeker discharges into the river Maas, the Romans decided to make a permanent river crossing. This location became known as Mosam Traiectum, which means Maas Crossing. Out of the military camps on either side, the colony Maastricht and its smaller counterpart Wijk developed. |
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Being located at the center of
traffic, both on the river and by land, and having a fertile hinterland, these
settlements flourished under the protection of the military shield. In the year
320 AD the first Bishop of Tongeren founded a chapel in Maastricht. A later
Bishop came to stay in Maastricht and died there on the 13th of May 383. This
Servatius, or Servaas, has been the devoted Patron Saint of the town ever
since. The magnificent Cathedral in the center of Maastricht is named after
him.
When Roman rule came to an end,
Franc invaders took over to settle in a territory that stretched from Maastricht
to deep into the south. During the centuries that followed new raiders would
come and go, e.g. the Goths and the Normans, but they would not prevent society
from gradually shaping itself into firm structures with cities as the centers
of manufacture, craft, trade and culture. For Maastricht the fast running
streams offered ready power for mills which were used for grinding. In the
middle of the 13th century the first volmolen
of the Netherlands was built in Maastricht. This fulling mill turned the loose
hand-made woolen material into firm fabric of higher value. Later, mills
appeared for other industrial processes such as for the preparation of leather,
paper, beer, etceteras.
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At first the city had been significant for its possession of the northern-most bridge across the river Maas, which was a vital link on the route from Flanders to Rhineland, now it became also important as a checkpoint for the traffic on the river, which was of strategic importance for military interventions against Holland by troops coming from the south. |
The earthen defense wall of
Maastricht from about 1200 AD was soon replaced by a stone wall. Before this
was completed the need for a second wall became apparent, which would embrace
city expansion for housing, monasteries and manufacturing besides including
some land for food security in times of siege. The construction of the second
wall started around 1300. Its alignment would determine the city limits for the
centuries to come. It started again as an earth wall to provide instant
protection. The required material was obtained by digging a trench on the
outside. Later the earth wall was replaced by a stone structure, and provided
with gates and bastions, which were incessantly reinforced.
Many times the town stood siege, but
the desire for control over it made armies persist so overwhelmingly that
several times the brave citizens had to give up. Alternately Holland, Spain and France managed to take the
town. The sieges encouraged the construction and perfection of forwardly
extended defense works in the period from 1500 to 1800. These comprised a
system of ramparts, moats and underground corridors. Where conditions allowed,
water from the Maas and Jeker would be let into the moats to form additional
obstacles, but on the higher grounds this was not feasible. One gets an idea of
the topography when walking from the Old Bridge in a western direction. First
the terrain is rather level, but from the Saint Servaas Church up to the
Brussels Gate there is a distinct climb. The defense works beyond Brussels Gate
were called the Hoge Fronten. These
High Fronts were provided with an intricate underground network of Kazematten
(Casemates) that was extended outwards to facilitate the undermining of enemy
positions. In order to give additional protection, forts were built on elevated
spots on either side of the High Fronts: Fort Sint Pieter and Fort
Willem.
compilation Pith
All these additions were so numerous
and perfected that the defense works of Maastricht became famous. It was not without reason that the French
Defense Engineer Dumoulin pronounced in 1747: 'Nous ne laisserons jamais derrière nous une place de cette importance';
and in 1803 Napoléon to his Minister of War: 'Cette place, qui est la seule que nous ayons comme point d’appui d’une
armée sur le bas Rhin, devrais être tenue dans un très-bon état.'
This could not prevent those
monumental works from losing significance in the course of the nineteenth
century. When their abolishment set in, quite a bit disappeared but a good
portion survived and can still be seen all over the town. The greatest chunk of
the remains is being protected as a reserve under the name De Werken [The Works].
Brussels Gate and its forwardly extended works
were removed for city expansion in the beginning of last century. As time went
on the city did marvelous in investing in its heritage and upgrading it for new
challenges. The resulting grandeur bought the French Président François
Mitterrand to exclaim:
'Quelle ville!', when visiting the city for the signing of the Maastricht
Treaty in 1990.
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