Maastricht is a city in the Netherlands. It is located in the southern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, of which it is the capital.
Maastricht is widely known as a city of history, culture, local folklore and education. The town is popular with tourists for shopping and recreation. The city has a large growing international student population.
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river (Dutch: Maas) in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border
In the 17th century, many Jewish emigrants from Portugal and Spain settled in the neighborhood. They founded several synagogues.
The street served as a marketplace until the late 19th century. In 1893, the city government ordered the merchants to move their stalls to nearby Waterlooplein square.
During the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, many residents of the Jewish neighourhood were taken away to the concentration camps and killed. After the war, the neighbourhood was left deserted and many of the houses began to fall apart and were eventually torn down.
What does a city do with an 800-year-old church with no congregation? Well, it could make like the Dutch and convert it into a temple of books. The old Dominican church in Maastricht was being used for bicycle storage not long ago, but thanks to a radical refurbishment by Dutch architects Merkx + Girod it has been turned into what could possibly be the most beautiful bookshop of all time. The Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen, which opened just before Christmas, retains the character and charm of the old church, while being fitted with a minimalist and modern interior design that overcomes any suggestion of fustiness. From the images you can find on the web you can see that it is a bookshop made in heaven.
