Platform voor Architectuur & Design

Monthly walks

Architecture, culture and history

15 February till 12 April 2025

For several years now, Bureau Europa has been writing and organising our own walks, focusing on architecture, culture, and history. Starting this month, we are offering everyone the opportunity to join these walks with a volunteer guide! The first walk will take place on Saturday, February 15, when you can join us for The Women of Maastricht walk. The walks will be held on Saturdays at 11:00 AM, starting from Bureau Europa.

The preliminary schedule is as follows:

  • February 15: The Women of Maastricht (in Dutch)
  • March 22: The Zinc Identity of Maastricht (in Dutch)
  • April 12: Eau Eau Mestreech... (in English!)

Participation is free, but we kindly ask you to register via info@bureau-europa.nl. Please specify which walk you would like to join. More walks will be announced in the coming months!

Dates Saturday, February 15, Saturday, March 22, Saturday, April 12, 2025, at 11:00 AM
Location Bureau Europa, platform for architecture and design
Participation free, registration via info@bureau-europa.nl. Max. 15 participants

About the walks:

The Women of Maastricht The Women of Maastricht

This walk has been created as part of the exhibition Love in a Mist – The Architecture of Fertility, which explores the spaces shaped by societal gender perceptions and highlights the women who paved the way for their contemporaries and future generations.

During this walk, you will visit locations where remarkable moments in Maastricht’s women’s history took place—where women took to the barricades and carved out space to fully realize their own potential. Stroll past refuges, convents, and the Sterre der Zee; visit the homes of extraordinary women like Elisabeth Strouven and Wilhelmina van de Geijn; and follow in the footsteps of Maastricht’s suffragettes and the working women of De Sphinx.

The Zinc Identity of Maastricht The Zinc Identity of Maastricht

For those who know where to look, Maastricht houses a wealth of zinc. Follow in the footsteps of the striking zinc oxide workers and encounter surprising zinc architecture, both new and old, and on and off the beaten track.

Here we border on the most important area of Europe’s zinc industry. Once upon a time, in the 19th and 20th centuries, the strip of Belgium that extends from Liege along the border to the town of Kelmis was entirely devoted to zinc mining and processing. Maastricht benefited from this industry and had its own infamous Zinc Oxide Company (Zinkwit Maatschappij) with inhuman working conditions. But zinc can also be found in unexpected places in Maastricht’s streets – unnoticed but distinctive nonetheless.

Eau Eau Mestreech... Eau Eau Mestreech...
Which river is most important to Maastricht? While it may seem like an obvious question, the answer might surprise you—it’s not the Meuse. In fact, Maastricht’s development was more closely tied to the Jeker River than to the Meuse. The city grew at the confluence of these two rivers. Did you know that water has been crucial to the city, and while the Maastricht expanded, Wyck actually shrank? Did you know there’s an underground aqueduct and that fish can climb stairs? You can even enjoy a ‘Sea View’ here, and water was once used as a strategic tool to breach the city walls.
 
Discover more on this walk exploring Maastricht’s waterways, a sequel to the ‘En Plein Publique’ walk by heritage conservators Remco Beckers and Joes Minis. This walk was created for Open Monument Day.