NETHERLANDS GUIDE

Photo: TEFAF & the City.
Maastricht. Photo: HugoThomassen
MAASTRICHT AND TEFAF
A melting pot of international
art and culture
TEXT: MICHIEL STOL | PHOTOS: MAASTRICHT MARKETING
Maastricht is the Netherlands’ most
European (and cosmopolitan) city, located
at the heart of where the country
meets Germany and Belgium. From the
moment you set foot in Maastricht, you
feel a unique energy and dynamism
of history, art and culture. “And when
TEFAF - one of the biggest and most
influential art and culture fairs - lands
in the city, you can feel an extra layer of
chic,” says Leontien Mees, managing
director of Maastricht Marketing.
The name Maastricht comes from the
Latin ‘Mosae Trajectum’, meaning ‘crossing
over the Meuse’, which refers to the
bridge over the river that the Romans
built here around the first century AD.
The city has been inhabited ever since,
and today, it is the city in the Netherlands
with the largest number of different nationalities
among its inhabitants.
“All these international influences from
then and now are visible in the historic
buildings and elegant houses, where
you will find a rich variety of architectural
styles from the early Roman period to the
Maastricht Renaissance.” It also brings a
whole lot of art and culture, which can be
witnessed during the annual TEFAF (14
to 24 March).
TEFAF & the City
Founded in 1988, TEFAF is a not-forprofit
foundation which runs three fairs
internationally in Maastricht and New
York, as well as a programme of initiatives
designed to enrich the global art
community. TEFAF is one of the most influential
and dynamic arts organisations
in the world. Each year in March, TEFAF
Maastricht provides a showcase for
around 275 leading international dealers.
In the MECC, the main exhibition hall for
TEFAF, visitors can indulge themselves
in 7,000 years of art and art history.
“One of the highlights is an original 18thcentury
doll house, exhibited by John
54 | Issue 62 | February 2019