LOCATION

Boschpoort is a suburb of Maastricht

Maastricht

Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...

 in the Dutch province of Limburg

Limburg

Limburg may refer to:A province divided between Belgium and the Netherlands as consequence of the Treaty of London* Province of Limburg , a former province of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...

. The suburb is situated in the North West Quarter of the city on the West bank of the river Meuse (Dutch; Maas). The Dorp or 'village' as its colloquially known to the residence is home to approximately 1500 people.

RECENT EVENTS

The Roman Catholic church of St. Hubertus, built in 1925 was sold in 2009 and converted into a fitness centre.

The primary school, R.K. Basisschool Boschpoort, after an intense and emotional fight to keep it open by locals and parents was closed in 2010

HISTORY

The suburb gains its name from the Forest gate, one of the old city gates to Maastricht and was similar to the Helpoort which is still in existence. The Forest gate was demolished in the 1930 to make way for a flyover.

The suburb of Boschpoort lay outside the old city walls and after the Belgian secession

Belgian Revolution

The Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the Southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and established an independent Kingdom of Belgium....

 became a point of contention between the United Provinces of the Netherlands and the newly founded Belgian state. Maastricht had remained a part of the Netherlands even though the secession had popular support within the city due to the fact a garrison of Dutch troops from the North had refused to hand the keys of the city over to the citizens. Once the Netherlands recognised Belgium as a sovereign state a new border had to be established. In the South East this border was defined as the river Meuse. The problem was that the city of Maastricht lay on both sides of the river and predominantly on the Belgian Westside. To set the border at the city gates and walls was not a practical option therefore the Belgians allowed to Dutch to fire a cannonball from the walls and wherever it landed marked the border. This gave an area of land, which encompassed the suburb of Boschpoort, extending approximately 1500 meters from the old walls.