a strongly-fortified town of Holland, and capital of the duchy of Limburg, is situate on the left bank of the Meuse, and connected by a stone bridge of nine arches, with its suburb of Wych on the opposite bank. This is one of the strongest fortresses in Europe, being surrounded by walls and ditches, and having also a number of detached bastions, an arsenal and military magazine, and a citadel or fortress, called St Pierre, on a neighbouring height. By opening sluices a great part of the surrounding country may be laid under water. Under the hill of Petersberg, on which the citadel stands, is a subterranean stone quarry, covering a space of 13 miles by 6, and said to be intersected by 16,000 passages, forming a most intricate labyrinth. The rock is a soft, yellowish stone, abounding in curious and interesting fossils. The town is well and regularly built, having wide, clean, and well-paved streets. The town-hall, built in 1682, stands in the centre of the great market-place, and is said to be one of the finest edifices in Holland. The church of St Gervais, a fine Romanesque edifice, dating probably from the tenth century, is ornamented with five towers, and has a splendid portal. There are six Roman Catholic and three Calvinistic churches, two hospitals, two orphan asylums, a lazaretto, lyceum, public library, and society of agriculture. The chief manufactures are—woollen and cotton stuffs, leather, soap, tobacco, firearms, beer, and spirits. Maaestricht is connected with Aix-la-Chapelle by railway, and also carries on a considerable trade with various places on the Meuse. It has frequently suffered from sieges. In 1579 the Spaniards, under the Duke of Parma, took it by assault after a siege of four months, and put the garrison and most of the townspeople to the sword. It was also taken by Louis XIV., but was unsuccessfully attacked by William III. of England. It was bravely and successfully defended by its garrison against the Belgians in 1830. Pop. (1854) 24,394.