in the city of Maastricht, in the southeast of the Netherlands

 "We cheat ourselves in order to enjoy a calm conscience without possessing virtue." — Lambert Of Maastricht

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(in the southeast of the Netherlands) The city of Maastricht, the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg, is located on both sides of the Meuse (Dutch: Maas) river, at the point where the Jeker joins it. Mount Saint Peter (Sint-Pietersberg) is largely situated within the city's municipal borders. Maastricht is adjacent to the border with Belgium and is part of the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, an international metropolis with a population of about 3.9 million, which includes the nearby German and Belgian cities of Aachen, Liège,  and Hasselt.

+ Maastricht developed from a Roman settlement to a medieval religious center. In the 16th century it became a garrison town and in the 19th century an early industrial center. Today, the city is a thriving cultural and regional hub. It became well known through the Maastricht Treaty and as the birthplace of the Euro. The city is visited by tourists for shopping and recreation, and has a large international student population. In the rest of the Netherlands, the city is often seen as "foreign" in part because of its atypical culture and alleged "Burgundian lifestyle" (meaning: with good and plentiful food and beverages).

+ Maastricht was the site of the Roman settlement Trajectum ad Mosam (“Ford on the Meuse”) and was later the seat of a bishop from 382 to 721. The town was held by the dukes of Brabant after 1204, coming under the joint sovereignty of Brabant and the prince-bishops of Liège in 1284 and of Liège and the Dutch Estates-General in 1632. It was taken by the Spanish in 1579, by Prince Frederick Henry of Orange in 1632, and by the French in 1673, 1748, and 1794, but it successfully resisted the Belgians in 1830–32. Portions of its old fortifications -- Helpoort the Pater Fink Tower, and 16th- and 17th-century bastions -- remain. Attacked on the first day of the German invasion of the Low Countries in 1940, Maastricht was the first Dutch town to be liberated, in 1944. Following a 1991 meeting of the European Communities that was held in Maastricht, an accord (known as the Maastricht Treaty) was signed calling for the establishment of a European Union, with common policies on economics, foreign affairs, security, and immigration.

+ Local landmarks include the St. Servatius Bridge over the Meuse, the Dinghui, (or former courthouse), and the Town Hall. The cathedral was founded by Bishop Monulphus in the 6th century; it is the oldest church in The Netherlands. The Protestant Church of St. John, with a 75-meter tower, originally served as its parish church. The much-restored Church of Our Lady has remnants of 10th-century crypts. There are many other medieval churches, as well as fine houses in regional Renaissance and French styles. Maastricht is the site of the University of Limburg, a music conservatory, a symphony orchestra, art academies, and several museums.