Vrijthof takes its name from the churchyard it once was, the free forecourt of the Basilica of Saint Servaas that doubled as a burial ground through the Middle Ages, before it became the wide public square that now hosts Maastricht's Christmas market and biggest outdoor terraces. Archaeological digs beneath the paving have turned up Roman infrastructure and early medieval graves, so the square's actual history runs back roughly two thousand years even though almost nothing visible on it does. This common lime, dated by the register to around 1880 to 1890, is one of the square's more recent arrivals by that measure, standing beside what was once the rijkswacht building at the square's edge. Common lime is itself a hybrid, a natural cross between the small-leaved and large-leaved lime that was the default civic tree across Dutch and Belgian cities for centuries. It grows in the open square, free, a two minute walk from a second commemorative linden on the neighbouring Keizer Karelplein, both sharing the same historic church complex without either predating it by more than a fraction.
In bloom
June to July, when it flowers
The line is our estimate of how much there is to see, not a measurement. Typical for this species where this tree stands; exact weeks shift with the year.
Vrijthof 25, beside the former rijkswacht building, MaastrichtYou can recognise it by its size beside the former rijkswacht building on Vrijthof's edge. It stands a two minute walk from the second commemorative linden on Keizer Karelplein.
Free, public square, open at any time
Centrum, central Maastricht; about a 10 minute walk from Maastricht station
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from.
- In the official register: Landelijk Register Monumentale Bomen (Bomenstichting), no. 1679959
- Landelijk Register Monumentale Bomen v2024 (LRMB), Bomenstichting (nr 1679959)
- nl.wikipedia.org
- services-eu1.arcgis.com