Rebuild Maastricht

Rebuild Maastricht

Rebuild Maastricht is an investigation into Maastricht as it was in 1750 based on a scale model created in 1748. With your help, we aim to digitize this model to create an improved 3D reconstruction program that runs smoothly, is easy to run and navigate. This model can then be used both by historians and the public to better understand the historyof Maastricht, and to discover and share more fascinating stories about the city and its inhabitants.

Historical background

French expansionism during the 17th and 18th centuries arose from the desire for natural boundaries. The English were soon driven off the mainland, with the Atlantic Ocean again forming the border in the West. In the South and East, the French pushed the Habsburgs back to the Pyrenees and Alps mountain ranges (respectively), which was relatively easy to do, partly due to the advancing Turks in the East. However, the North was a different story. Since the French wanted for the Rhine River to be the northern border of their territory, they expanded northward, leading to the French invasion of the Dutch Republic.

To plan strategic attack or defense, the French military actively created so-called plans-relief: three-dimensional scale models of fortified towns or cities and their surrounding landscapes. Soldiers and surveyors would collect all the information needed to make an extremely detailed model of the city in which they were stationed. On other occasions, spies were sent to collect the data needed to construct the models. Every detail was carefully and accurately recorded.

As French expansion reached the Dutch Republic, plans-relief of the fortified town of Maastricht were also created. The first model of Maastricht was probably created between 1673 and 1678, after the conquest of the city. During this period, large-scale modifications of the fortifications were planned under supervision of engineer Sauvage. Between 1668 and 1695, he built a total of 11 models. Unfortunately, none of these have been preserved.

The plan-relief of Maastricht our team is working to digitize was made between 1749 and 1752. While the original is still kept in France, a copy was finished in 1982. Part of this copy is currently on display at the Center Céramique in Maastricht.

In 2018, the remaining scale model was scanned at the University of Florence. However, the 3D model that was created from this scan is much too “‘heavy”’ to run smoothly on most computers. Therefore, the goal of this project is to create a digital model using a method that makes the final model more compatible and easier to use. However, this method takes more time, since it requires us to classify and tag every separate building in the model. This is why we need your help to collect the data we need for a new 3D reconstruction of the old Maastricht.