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Maastricht

Maastricht
Mestreech
Municipality
View of Maastricht city centre with its medieval bridge (Sint Servaasbrug) on the Meuse river
View of Maastricht city centre with its medieval bridge (Sint Servaasbrug) on the Meuse river
Flag of Maastricht
Flag
Coat of arms of Maastricht
Coat of arms
Anthem: Mestreechs Volksleed
Highlighted position of Maastricht in a municipal map of Limburg
Location in Limburg
Coordinates: 50°51′N 5°41′E / 50.850°N 5.683°E / 50.850; 5.683Coordinates: 50°51′N 5°41′E / 50.850°N 5.683°E / 50.850; 5.683
Country Netherlands
Province Limburg
Settled 500 BC
City rights 1204
Boroughs
Government
 • Body Municipal council
 • Mayor Annemarie Penn-te Strake (independent)
Area
 • Municipality 60.03 km2 (23.18 sq mi)
 • Land 56.81 km2 (21.93 sq mi)
 • Water 3.22 km2 (1.24 sq mi)
Elevation 49 m (161 ft)
Population (Municipality, May 2014; Urban and Metro, May 2014)
 • Municipality 121,906
 • Density 2,146/km2 (5,560/sq mi)
 • Urban 121,906
 • Metro 182,721
  Urban and metro population for Dutch area only, thus excluding Belgian environs
Demonym(s) (Dutch) Maastrichtenaar;
(Limb.) Mestreechteneer or Sjeng
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode 6200–6229
Area code 043
Website www.maastricht.nl

Maastricht (Dutch: [maːˈstrɪxt];Limburgish (incl. Maastrichtian): Mestreech [məˈstʀeˑx]; French: Maestricht (archaic); Spanish: Mastrique (archaic)) is a town and a municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the capital city of the province of Limburg.

Maastricht is located on both sides of the Meuse river (Dutch: Maas), at the point where the Jeker River (French: Geer) joins it.

Maastricht developed from a Roman settlement to a Medieval religious centre, a garrison town and an early industrial city. Today, Maastricht is well-regarded as an affluent cultural center. Maastricht has 1677 national heritage sites (Rijksmonumenten), which is the second highest number in a Dutch town, after Amsterdam. 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. The town is popular with tourists for shopping and recreation, and has a large growing international student population. Maastricht is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network and is part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, which includes nearby cities Aachen, Eupen, Hasselt, Liège and Tongeren.


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