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Pearls of Maastricht
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Play in Maastricht

Pearls of Maastricht

Forty-five pearls between the Vrijthof and Wyck: a cannonball in a facade with a date that can't be right, the oldest city gate in the Netherlands, a Roman bathhouse in the paving, and seven places where you lay an old print or photo over today's city.

Play in Maastricht See the routes
45 pearls 4 routes, 90 to 195 minutes 7 views in Then and now Works offline too
Lithograph of the Vrijthof with strollers and soldiers by the Hoofdwacht, behind it the Sint-Servaas with baroque domes and, on the left, the tower of the Sint-Jan.
The Vrijthof with the Sint-Servaas, a nineteenth-century lithograph. In the app you stand where the draughtsman stood, and see what has become of the domes since.
The Pearls of Maastricht app: a map of the old town with plates as pins along The Pearl Route, and at the bottom the next pearl.

The routes

Four routes, or just wander.

A route has a set order along real streets, with time to look and read. Would you rather wander on your own? Choose All pearls, and the compass keeps pointing to the nearest one you haven't found yet.

Map of the old town of Maastricht.

21 pearls, about 3 hours 15 minutes

The Pearl Route

The grand loop through Maastricht

From the Markt past the Vrijthof and its churches to d'Artagnan, the ramparts of the Jekerkwartier and the Helpoort, then past the Star of the Sea and the Mestreechter Geis, over the Sint-Servaasbrug to Wyck, and back to the Dinghuis.

Start: Markt, by the Mooswief

  1. The Mooswief and her Moosman
  2. A town hall for two lords
  3. The oldest wine merchant
  4. Books beneath the vault
  5. The cannonball in the Vogelstruys
  6. Servatius on his fountain
  7. The Bergportaal
  8. The house of Charles V
  9. D'Artagnan in the park
  10. Fons Olterdissen tells a story
  11. Wild boar in the city
  12. Haet ende Nijt
  13. De Vijf Koppen (The Five Heads)
  14. The Helpoort
  15. The Bisschopsmolen
  16. The Star of the Sea
  17. A bathhouse beneath the paving
  18. The Mestreechter Geis
  19. St Servatius on the bridge
  20. Landscapes in tiles
  21. The Dinghuis

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenFreeMap, OpenMapTiles.

All pearls

Forty-five reasons to look closer.

Tap a pearl for its riddle. You only get the story and the spotting question once you're standing there.

Find it in the app

Your plate wall

Every find, a plate on the wall.

For more than a century, Petrus Regout's De Sphinx and the Société Céramique made plates here for half the world. That's why in Maastricht a right answer earns you a plate in their style: a red rim full of flowers and tendrils, and in the centre the pearl's motif.

From Regout to Céramique

A route of its own past what is left of the pottery: the factory gate of De Sphinx, a passage with thirty thousand tiles, tile panels on a facade and in the station hall, and the two halls of the Société Céramique.

The plate wall in the app: nine plates with a red rim, each with the motif of a pearl you've found, and empty plates with a question mark.

Ramparts and gates

From the Hoofdwacht past the spot where d'Artagnan fell to the rondels of the Jekerkwartier and the Helpoort, almost eight hundred years old.

Walk to your hotel via pearls

Just off the train? Say where you need to go, and from Maastricht station the app plans a walk with a ten, twenty or forty-minute detour past pearls.

Show me the way

One tap and the app walks with you: the map turns with the way you're facing and a voice calls out the turns, so your phone can stay in your pocket.

Maastricht in 1649

Look through the glass at the fortress city.

Joan Blaeu drew Maastricht in 1649, between two sieges: that of Frederick Henry in 1632 and that of 1673, in which d'Artagnan fell. In the app his map lies over today's city, bent into place at fifty points, so that his streets fall on yours to within about five metres. Go on, move the glass over the city.

The old town of Maastricht as it is today, as a map. The same old town on Joan Blaeu's map of 1649, with the fortifications, the Maas and Wyck. Move the glass over the city
1649 under the glass

Today's map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenFreeMap. Joan Blaeu, Maastricht, 1649: Rijksmuseum, public domain.

Then and now

Seven times, stand where the maker stood.

In the app, each image hangs in a little gilded frame on the map, with a fan that shows which way it looks. Stand there and face the same way, and through your camera it hangs at full size over today's city.

  • Lithograph of the Vrijthof with a bandstand on the left, strollers and gentlemen in top hats on the square and a few soldiers by the Hoofdwacht. Behind the trees the Hoofdwacht with its arches, behind it the Sint-Servaas with baroque domes on the westwork and, on the left, the tower of the Sint-Jan.
    Print, 1800-1875The Vrijthof with the Sint-ServaasUnknown draughtsmanIn this print the westwork of the Sint-Servaas still has the baroque domes that Étienne Fayen added in 1767-1770. In the restoration by Pierre Cuypers (1870-1890) they were replaced by pointed towers, with a tall neo-Gothic tower in the middle that burned down in 1955. The Hoofdwacht (main guardhouse), rebuilt in 1773 into what you see now, and the Sint-Jan are still standing.
  • Photograph looking out over the trees of the Vrijthof: on the left the tower of the Sint-Jan, in the middle the east end of the Sint-Servaas with its round apse and two choir towers, behind it the pointed towers of the westwork with a tall central tower. On the right the Hoofdwacht with seven arches, and in the foreground the roof of the bandstand.
    Photograph, 1893Sint-Jan and Sint-Servaas above the treesUnknown photographerThe tall central tower on the westwork was new: Pierre Cuypers added it in his restoration of 1870-1890. It burned down in 1955 and was never rebuilt. The Sint-Jan, the choir towers of the Sint-Servaas and the Hoofdwacht with its seven arches are still standing.
  • Photograph along a row of white houses on the left, with children and a few adults on the cobblestones. Behind them the tall Gothic tower of the Sint-Jan and the choir of the church, and on the right, behind the trees, the pointed towers of the westwork of the Sint-Servaas with a slender, tall tower in the middle.
    Photograph, 1893Sint-Jan and Sint-Servaas from the eastUnknown photographerThe tower of the Sint-Jan, from the second half of the fifteenth century, is still standing and, at almost 80 metres, is the tallest in Maastricht. The slender central tower on the westwork of the Sint-Servaas burned down in 1955; the two pointed towers next to it are still standing.
  • Photograph of the town hall with its tower and the double staircase up to the landing, on an almost empty square with posts. Two men in hats stand in the foreground.
    Photograph, 1880-1900The town hall on the MarktThéodor WeijnenPieter Post's town hall, built from 1659 to 1664, still looks just as it does here, with the double staircase and the landing at the front. The tower was only added in 1684, when there was money for it again.
  • Lithograph of the Markt with the town hall in the middle, with its tower and a flag, on the left a carriage with two horses and a coachman, on the square people out walking, market women and children, and on the left, behind the houses, the tower of the Sint-Matthias.
    Print, 1860The town hall of MaastrichtAlexander SchaepkensThe town hall and the tower of the Sint-Matthias are still standing. Schaepkens put the French title L'Hôtel-de-Ville à Maestricht underneath, with the old spelling of the city's name, as it also appears on Blaeu's city map.
  • Postcard of the Helpoort with its two round towers with pointed roofs on the left, the battlements of the city wall, and on the right the thick, round Jekertoren with a conical roof. On the right the wall runs off along a row of houses.
    Photograph, c. 1911-1920The Helpoort and the JekertorenUnknown photographerThe Helpoort, built shortly after 1229, is the oldest city gate in the Netherlands still standing. The Jekertoren was brand new when this card was made: of the old tower only part of the main body was left, and in 1911 it was rebuilt to a design by Willem Sprenger. Since 2021 the Helpoort has housed the Vestingmuseum (Fortress Museum).
  • Postcard of the stone bridge over the Maas with six arches on heavy piers with pointed caps, the arches reflected in the water. On the right, behind the bridge, the tall pointed tower of the Sint-Martinus in Wyck.
    Photograph, c. 1911The MaasbrugH.W.K.Until 1932 the bridge was simply called the Maasbrug; then it was given the name Sint Servaasbrug. From 1932 to 1934 it was taken down and rebuilt in concrete, 2.5 metres wider, and on the Wyck side, to the right and outside this card, a steel section that can be raised was added for shipping. Since 2000 the bridge has been for pedestrians and cyclists only.

All images are public domain or CC0; the app gives the source with each one.

Trial period

Free to play, for now.

Pearls of Maastricht is in its trial period: all 45 pearls, the four routes, Then and now and Maastricht in 1649 are free, no account needed. What you find stays saved on your phone.

Play in Maastricht With a group? Request a tour

Questions

What you might be wondering.

Do I need to download an app?

No. Pearls of Maastricht runs in your phone's browser: scan the code or open the link and you're playing. Add it to your home screen and it opens like a normal app, and works without signal too.

I've already played in Delft. Do I start again?

Yes, with an empty plate wall. Each city has its own address, and your phone saves your finds per address. That way your Delft tile panel loses nothing when you start in Maastricht.

How long does a route take?

From an hour and a half (The highlights) to over three hours (The Pearl Route), including time to look and read. You can always stop and carry on later: your finds stay saved on your phone.

Where do I start?

Wherever you like. The Pearl Route and The highlights start on the Markt by the Mooswief, Ramparts and gates on the Vrijthof by the Hoofdwacht, and From Regout to Céramique in the Boschstraat by the gate of De Sphinx. Coming by train? Choose Walk to your hotel or appointment via pearls: the app plans a walk from Maastricht station.

Does it work without internet?

Mostly. Once you've opened the app, the map of the old town, the stories and the images are on your phone. Only the walking route in Show me the way needs signal; the compass points the way without it.

What happens to my location?

It stays on your phone. Only for the walking route does your position go to the route planner, and in a tour the game leader sees where the teams are. A tour is deleted three days after it ends. More in the privacy policy.

Is it suitable for children?

Yes. From about eight, children play along well, ideally with an adult on one phone. The wild boar above a little gate, d'Artagnan in the park and the boy with his dog in the Stokstraat are often their favourite part; you read the stories together.

Is it in other languages too?

Yes. The app speaks English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese and Japanese, and follows the language of your phone. You can switch on the welcome screen or under More.

Which phones does it work on?

Any recent iPhone or Android phone, in Safari or Chrome. For Then and now and the camera view you need a camera and a compass; almost every phone has both.

Start today in Maastricht.

Scan the code with your phone, or tap the button if it's already in your hand. Free to play for now, no account needed.

Play in Maastricht Or play with your group
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