The door slightly open
Maastricht Monument Days 10 and 11 September
24 August 2022Every year Europe celebrates its monuments during the Open Monuments' Days, this year on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September. Maastricht participates too, be it in an improvised way on account of budget cuts. Hence the motto 'The door slightly open'. Visitors can enjoy a divers and entertaining programme of city walks and tours and peep visits at the institutions that open their doors for the occasion.
Bureau Europa also offers a number of themed city walks that let you understand the city in a different way.
Saturday 10 September
At 11am The Zinc Identity of Maastricht (in English) departs from Bureau Europa. Zinc might look dull, but it conceals a shiny history. You'll encounter it in many more places in the city than you'd expect, not just the rooftops. Did you know the most important strike in Maastricht's history was the zinc white strike? Learn everything about it.
Or would you rather know more about the historical women who fought to improve their own situation as well as their contemporaries' and future women's? Maastricht women like Elisabeth Strouven, Anna Wynandts, and Willhelmina van de Geijn have gone against the Zeitgeist and made an impact that women today still benefit from. Which influences have their lives and work had on Maastricht society? The city walk The Woman of Maastricht (in Dutch) starts at 2pm.
Sunday 11 September
At 11am a city walk starts at Bureau Europa that showcases the permanent metamorphosis of the city centre by master builder Jo Coenen. His philosophy 'to cherish the history as much as your city' speaks from every project he's completed. The city walk In Jo Coenen's Footsteps (in Dutch) passes by his most important projects in Maastricht.
Finally, there is the city tour In Case of Emergency! (in Dutch) at 2pm. Several centuries of hiding, taking refuge, and defending come together in this exploration of the Medieval city walls and the 18th-century fortifications, the underground air raid shelters and the unexpected city lookouts.
All walks are in Dutch, with the exception of The Zinc Identity of Maastricht. All walks start at Bureau Europa, Boschstraat 9 in Maastricht.
Care to join us? You can write an email via these links: the Zinc walk, the Women's walk, the Jo Coenen walk of the fortifications' walk.