Mention the name Maastricht to anyone on the British side of the Atlantic and you risk setting off the Brexit arguments all over again – the less said about that, the better. Yes, Maastricht will go down in history as the place where the European Union was signed into existence in 1992; no, that’s not the only thing about it. This lovely Netherlandish town, with its international infamy, has plenty to write home about on its own terms.
Just across the Meuse – or Maas – from Belgium, the town is jam-packed with history. St Servatius died here in 384, far away from his home in Armenia. The solid basilica that bears his name was begun over his grave 200 years later when St Monulph moved his diocese from Tongeren to Maastricht. In 720, St Hubert – he of the stag with the crucifix between its antlers – moved the episcopal seat to Liège, where it remains.
