MAESTRICHT, or MAASTRICHT, mits" trikt (Lat.. Trajectum ad Mosam. i.e. 'Aleuse crossing'). The capital of the Province of Lim burg. Netherlands. It is situated 19 miles north of Liege, Belgium, on the left bank of the Meuse. over which a stone bridge, built in 1683. leads to the suburb of \\'ijk, where the railroad station is (Slap: Netherlands, D 4). It is well built and has several interesting buildings. On the great market-place stands the beautiful town hall, with its elock-tower. dating from 1659-64. The build ing several Dutch paintings and fine tapestries. The Hoofdkerk, or Church of Saint Servatius, built partly in the Roman esque, partly in the Gothic style. is the oldest church in the Netherlands. It has an altar piece by Van Dyck. and its crypt contains, besides the tomb of Saint Servatius, a number of inter esting ecclesiastical utensils of the twelfth and thirteenth eenturies. The town has a library with the provincial archives, an athenwum, and several technical schools. Probably the most remarkable attraction of the neighborhood is the Petersburg sandstone quarries, worked from Roman times until quite recently. and consist
ing of a labyrinth of subterranean passages ex tending over a vast area. The chief industries of the town consist of brandy-making and beer brewing, and the manufacture of woolens, glass, earthenware, soap, paper. and arms.
Maestriclit was early the seat of a bishop, and was in the latter part of the Middle Ages in the joint possession of the (hikes of Brabant and the bishops of Liege. Owing to its strategical posi tion on the frontier, it has often borne the brunt of war. In 1579 it was captured and sacked by the Spaniards under the Duke of Parma, and thousands of its inhabitants were massacred. It was captured by Prince Frederick Henry of Orange in 1632. and in 1673, 1743. and 1794 by tile French. In the Belgian revolution of 1830 it was almost the only town along the frontier which withstood the attack of the insurgents. Its fortifications have been razed. Population, iu 1892. 32,676; in 1900, 34,220.