Boschpoort (; ) is a neighbourhood of

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

in the Dutch province of

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

. The suburb is situated in the North Western area of the town, on the West bank of the river

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

. The ''Dörp'' (; English: ''village'') as it is colloquially known is home to approximately 1500 people.

History

The neighbourhood took its name from the old ''Boschpoort'' (English: ''

Den Bosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

Gate''), one of the seven former city gates of Maastricht. The Boschpoort gate and the outlying defense works were demolished in the 1860s when Maastricht ceased to be a fortress town. The Boschpoort neighbourhood was built slightly North of the old city gate in the early twentieth century. It was largely a

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

neighbourhood, being close to the ''Sphinx'' potteries, the paper factory and other industries around the ''Bassin'' inner harbour and the

Zuid-Willemsvaart The Zuid-Willemsvaart (; translated: ''South William's Canal'') is a canal in the south of the Netherlands and the east of Belgium. Route The Zuid-Willemsvaart is a canal in the provinces Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg (Belgium) and North Br ...

canal. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

some new areas were added.

Recent history

Populationwise, the area has been in decline for several decades. The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

''church of

Saint Hubert Hubertus or Hubert ( 656 – 30 May 727 A.D.) was a Christian saint who became the first bishop of Liège in 708 A.D. He is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers. Known as the "Apostle of the Ardennes", he w ...

'', an imposing expressionist building dating from the 1920s, was sold in 2009 after having stood empty for several years and has been converted into a fitness centre. The local primary school was closed in 2010 after an intense and emotional fight by locals and parents to keep it open.de Blickopener
It is hoped that the neighbourhood will benefit from plans for regeneration of the industrial North Western part of Maastricht (''Belvédère Project'').

References

External links

Website ''Blickopener'', local bulletin

Website Belvédère Project
{{coord, 50.8631, N, 5.6894, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:NL, display=title Neighbourhoods of Maastricht