h.dirix
Maastricht, urban history on a cold December morning.....Part 1...
Lock numer 19 and its 1826 drawbridge are of cultural-historical value and are the expression of the socio-economic development of the city of Maastricht, located in the extreme South of the Netherlands in the province of Limburg.
Because of this location the lock and drawbridge are linked to the economic development of the city and have a direct historical connection to the canal "Zuid-Willemsvaart" a so-called lateral canal that replaces a river as a waterway.
Maastricht has been located on the banks of the Meuse River for many centuries, but this river was unnavigable at the time because of its shalowness.
Because shipping traffic was far from motorized at that time, the barges had to be pulled by horses and even many times by people including boatsmen's wives and their children.
On top of the canel dikes ran paths that were specially constructed for this purpose, called towpaths.
Next to the lock chamber in the foreground is a paved towpath, but this turned into an unpaved path along the canal itself.
The "Zuid-Willemsvaart" had a length of 122 km, which allowed goods an raw materials to be transported to the cities of Belgian Limburg and the cities of North-Brabant, a large Dutch province.
The canal connected to other important waterways in the Netherlands.
It is due in large part tot the "Zuid-Willemsvaart" that Maastricht, in the wake of Walloon cities such as Liège, grew into a leading industrial city.
Well- established industries such as the Royal Dutch Paper Mill (KNP) and the Sphinx pottery factory settled here.
In 1860, over 35% of Maastricht's population was employed in industry, making Maastricht the first true industrial city in the Netherlands.
I set out to make a photographic documentary about my beloved city of Maastricht.
However the whole documentary is going to take lot of time to complete, because I invented a lot of unknown facts.
Of course, I will also continue to publish my regular work in between..
Maastricht, urban history on a cold December morning.....Part 1...
Lock numer 19 and its 1826 drawbridge are of cultural-historical value and are the expression of the socio-economic development of the city of Maastricht, located in the extreme South of the Netherlands in the province of Limburg.
Because of this location the lock and drawbridge are linked to the economic development of the city and have a direct historical connection to the canal "Zuid-Willemsvaart" a so-called lateral canal that replaces a river as a waterway.
Maastricht has been located on the banks of the Meuse River for many centuries, but this river was unnavigable at the time because of its shalowness.
Because shipping traffic was far from motorized at that time, the barges had to be pulled by horses and even many times by people including boatsmen's wives and their children.
On top of the canel dikes ran paths that were specially constructed for this purpose, called towpaths.
Next to the lock chamber in the foreground is a paved towpath, but this turned into an unpaved path along the canal itself.
The "Zuid-Willemsvaart" had a length of 122 km, which allowed goods an raw materials to be transported to the cities of Belgian Limburg and the cities of North-Brabant, a large Dutch province.
The canal connected to other important waterways in the Netherlands.
It is due in large part tot the "Zuid-Willemsvaart" that Maastricht, in the wake of Walloon cities such as Liège, grew into a leading industrial city.
Well- established industries such as the Royal Dutch Paper Mill (KNP) and the Sphinx pottery factory settled here.
In 1860, over 35% of Maastricht's population was employed in industry, making Maastricht the first true industrial city in the Netherlands.
I set out to make a photographic documentary about my beloved city of Maastricht.
However the whole documentary is going to take lot of time to complete, because I invented a lot of unknown facts.
Of course, I will also continue to publish my regular work in between..