Culture, Leisure, Travel, posted April 17th, 2005

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Celebrities can also be found outside of Hollywood, which is proven by the city of Maastricht. Over the centuries it has attracted poets, generals and world leaders. Some came through for a quick visit, others lived within the city walls and a few famous but unfortunate visitors never left….

The city of Maastricht is internationally located between Belgium and France and has many European influences in both culture and history. Approximately 122,000 people live on about sixty square kilometres. Crossroads has listed the most famous and illustrious ones from past and present.

Caius Julius Civilis – rebel general
This Batavian royal had the habit of dying his long hair red before going to war.
He became the leader of the Batavian rebellion against Rome in 69 and 70 A.D. after serving in the Roman legions for 25 years. Civilis was born in the northern part of the Netherlands but his career ended in Maastricht. Here he was defeated by the Roman general Labeo during a battle at the bridge of Maastricht, after which he surrendered. Painter Rembrandt van Rijn made a famous painting of the Batavian leader, named ‘The Conspiracy of Julius Civilis’

Saint Servaas – first bishop and legend
Legend has it that Servaas was born in Armenia as a distant relative to Jesus Christ, he converted Attila the Hun to Christianity and possessed the key to the gates of heaven. Fact is, the holy Servaas became the first bishop of the Netherlands, relocating the Belgian Episcopal of Tongres to Maastricht. Only days after his arrival, on May 13th 348 A.D. he died and was buried near a Roman road outside the city gate. The Saint Servaas Basilica was built above his grave in the present day city centre. His grave has drawn many pilgrims to the city over the centuries and still does so to this date.

The holy Lambertus - martyr
This bishop and martyr was born in Maastricht on the corner of the Bredestraat and the Hondtraat. He was bishop from 670 until 706 A.D. and is the founder of the Belgian city of Liège, to where he moved the Episcopal see. It was also in Liège that Lambertus was killed with a spear. His body was thrown into the river Meuse and washed ashore in Maastricht. A statue of the bishop can be found at the bottom of the Maria monument in the Stationstraat.

Hendrik van Veldeke – first writer in Dutch
Van Veldeke is the first author known by name, who wrote in the Dutch language. He was very popular in his time. One of his most famous stories is the legend of Saint Servaas, written around 1170 A.D. in the dialect spoken in Maastricht. Another famous work by his hand is about the Trojan hero Eneas. Van Veldeke is believed to have lived in the area of Hasselt, just over the Belgian border, but he also stayed at the royal court of the German emperor for some time. In addition to stories and poems, Van Veldeke also wrote songs that were used by troubadours throughout all of Europe. He has his own statue in Maastricht, located near the side of the Saint Servaas Basilica.

Fons Olterdissen – renaissance man
The former arts teacher, who was born in 1865 and died in 1923, is a local celebrity and regarded as a ‘renaissance’ man with many talents. He wrote poems and plays in the regional dialect and promoted events in Maastricht. His most famous work is the opera “De Kaptein vaan Köpenick”. The anthem of Maastricht, the ‘Mestreechs Volleksleed’ has been chosen from his opera “Trijn de Begijn”. A local school is named after him and the Fons Olterdissen foundation has a literature award named after him for writers in the regional dialect.

Beppie Kraft – singer and producer
Barbara Laurentia Christiana Kraft is the real name of the singer/ producer better known as Beppie Kraft. In 1957, at the tender age of 11, she started singing songs in the local dialect. Four years later her first single came out and she continued to win several regional music awards during her career. But Beppie has done more than just singing, from 1987 to July 2004 she ran music production company Marlstone.

Andre Rieu – violin player
In 1949, his parents moved from Amsterdam to Maastricht. His mother was heavily pregnant. A few days later, Andre was born, only just making him a real ‘Maastrichtenaar’. From 1968 until 1973 he attended the music academy in Liège and Maastricht, studying the violin. Since the late seventies, Rieu has travelled across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the US with the Maastricht Salon Orchestra, after which he founded his own Johann Strauss Orchestra. His album ‘Straus & Co’ received seven platinum discs in 1995, while he scored a number one hit with ‘Wiener Melange’. Rieu still lives in Maastricht and has even dedicated a part of his website to the city.

Camille Oostwegel – owner of a hotel chain
Oostwegel runs several exclusive hotels and restaurants in Maastricht and the surrounding area. In the early eighties he started his first restaurant with only four employees; he currently has a staff of approximately 400 people. His establishments are located in monuments, often restored with Oostwegel’s funding. His most famous hotel is Château Neercanne in Maastricht, which he purchased in 1984. It houses one of the few restaurants in the Netherlands with a prestigious Michelin star. In April, he opened his latest establishment: the Kruisherenhotel, in the centre of Maastricht. Oostwegel has vowed that he will make this design hotel world renowned.

Boudewijn Zenden – football player
As part of the Dutch national football team, Bouwdewijn Zenden played in the semi finals of the 1998 World Cup and at Euro 2000, both of which serve to highlight his successful football career. It all started at amateur club Leonidas in Maastricht, the city where Zenden was born in 1976. At the age of 18 he made his professional debut. The man who has been referred to as the ‘fast train from Maastricht’ has played for well known clubs such as PSV and Barcelona and currently lives in London. In the UK he is part of the Chelsea team.

About 2.6 million tourists pay a visit to the city of Maastricht each year, among them some very famous visitors and world leaders. Some came as friendly visitors, such as the late pope Johannes Paulus II or US president Bush. Others were not there to send a ‘Greetings from Maastricht’ postcard: men such as musketeer d’Artagnan came to conquer the city and paid the ultimate price.

D’Artagnan – musketeer
D’Artagnan is best known as the brave leader of the three musketeers in countless movies. But the real life ‘Capitaine des Mousquetaires du Roi’ will regret his siege on Maastricht. In 1673 the French King Louis XIV sent his musketeers to conquer the city, which they succeeded in doing. D’Artagnan, however, would never celebrate the victory as he was shot to death while trying to get inside the city walls.

Peter the Great – Czar of Russia
Those who visit the monastery of Troitse-Sergiev near Moscow, might think the tower on the building looks familiar. It is in fact a copy of the tower that decorates the city hall of Maastricht. When the Russian Czar Peter the Great paid a visit to Maastricht in 1717 he dined at the city hall, back in Moscow he remembered the tower and decided to copy it. During his visit, the Czar stayed at the local castle Château Neercanne, which served as a special guest residence of governor Baron Daniël de Dopff and is a hotel these days. Peter the Great is still mentioned as a famous guest on the hotel’s website.

Napoleon – French emperor
The French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte paid two visits to Maastricht. The first was in 1803, a year before he was crowned emperor of France. Between the visits, the Netherlands became part of his empire and in 1811 Napoleon returned to Maastricht. As a true man of war, he visited the famous fortifications of the city. But even the emperor was a bit of a tourist; Napoleon went inside the caves of Sint-Pietersberg, still a big local attraction to this date.

Pope Johannes Paulus II
The late pope Johannes Paulus II came to the Netherlands in 1984, a controversial visit at the time. The mostly catholic Maastricht was among the cities the pope visited, along with his personal bodyguards: the Swiss Guard. During his stay, Johannes Paulus II raised the status of the Saint Servaas from church to Basilica Minor.

Bush visits Maastricht
At the time of going to press, the current president of the United States and arguably the most powerful man on earth, George Bush jr., is planning to visit Maastricht on May 7th and 8th. The president has specifically chosen Maastricht, so he can pay a visit to the war cemetery in nearby Margraten, where 8302 US soldiers are buried. During his brief stay, Bush is scheduled to stay at the hotel Chateau St. Gerlach in Valkenburg, while most hotels in Maastricht are booked for his entourage. Several roads and the Kennedy bridge will be blocked and a special police force of 1,000 agents will take care of security. Maastricht will make sure that this guest leaves with a good impression.

By Bas Jussen

Source: Crossroads print issue, April 2005

Related articles:

• Famous inhabitants of Maastricht
• D’Artagnan’s death at the 1673 siege of Maastricht
• Adopt a grave in Margraten
• Religious legends in Maastricht

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