The best city hikes and walks in Sint Pietersberg & Jekerdal

Next to the magnificent Romanesque Basilica of St. Servatius is the younger church (from the 13th century) dedicated to St. John, which was originally built as a Catholic parish church, but now offers a spiritual home to the town's Protestant fellow citizens.

The Leewenmolen, located in the Jeker district, dates back to 1694 and is also known as Molen van Clemens and was formerly the oldest mill on the Jeker River.

Parts of the city wall are still preserved. The old mill, which is still in operation, is definitely worth seeing.

The red tower of St. John's Church and the Basilica of St. Servatius mark the historical significance and uniqueness of the square.

Maastricht's Gothic St. Matthew's Church (Sint-Matthiaskerk) is located on Boschstraat. Construction of this church began around 1350, but it is believed that a church already stood on this site before then. The St. Matthew's Church is definitely worth a look.

A visit to the theater in Maastricht will make your stay a special experience. Experience various performances, from dance to cabaret and from musicals to theater. The theater is for everyone, from young to old. The cinemas and movie theaters also welcome you with open arms. From Hollywood blockbusters to classic films. In 1805, another secular building was built on the foundations of the monastery church: the General's House. The builder was the tobacco and madder merchant Petrus de Ceuleneer, who commissioned François Hermans in 1803 to design and build a large city palace in the neoclassical style. In 1825, General B.J.C. Dibbets, commander of the fortress of Maastricht, bought De Ceuleneer's house for 35,640 guilders. The name of the house of the future general is also derived from this general, Baron Dibbets. In 1914, the building was sold to the municipality of Maastricht. The building successively housed the City Museum, the City Bankruptcy Court, the City Archives, the City Library, and the City Police Department. It was then converted into a theater. The exact date of the Theater aan het Vrijthof's construction is disputed. Four years are possible: 1948, 1978, 1981, and 1989.

Watermill with a lion behind the mill wheel

At the beginning of our era, the mouth of the Jeker formed a real delta, which even reached the northern side of the Vrijthof in Maastricht. Since Roman times, the course of the Jeker has changed several times, Jeker branches have been shifted, added and filled in. After the Middle Ages, only three branches of this delta remained, a southern, a middle and a northern branch. The southern Jeker, the presumed main branch, branches off in front of the De Reek water gate and continues its way as a city moat along the second city wall in the Henri Hermanspark, to unite with the northern branch behind the Pesthuis and together flow into the Maas. This northern branch flows from De Reek via the Huis op de Jeker and an underground course from Achter de Molens towards the Pater Vinktoren. The middle branch split off at the Dolk mill on the site of the current conservatory, where the ‘Weyer’ was located, a pond-like widening of the Jeker. Via the Grote and Kleine Looiersstraat, it flowed towards the Maas. At the bottom of the Pater Vincktoren, it then joined the northern and shortly afterwards the southern branch of the Jeker. This old outlet is still visible. The street structure in the Jekerkwartier, as it is now, is therefore largely dependent on the various Jeker courses. From the late Middle Ages, this area was the scene of the tanners, who used the Jeker water in the tanning process. The river here was more like an open sewer or garbage dump, in which all too often lay carcasses, old clothes, kitchen waste, street dirt and excrement. Moreover, the Jeker regularly overflowed its banks. After a number of floods between 1890 and 1895, the municipal authorities had had enough and decided to fill in the middle branch. During the filling in, two sewers were installed in the old riverbed, which can be connected to the northern branch on both sides. However, to speak of a covered Jeker, which is often claimed, would be too much of an honour for these sewers. Source: https://aldecaerte-maastricht.nl/de-verdwenen-middentak-van-de-jeker/