Het Bat

Along the Meuse, on the edge of the old town, lies ‘ Het Bat ’. These days, it is a peaceful spot by the water, with views towards Wyck and the Sint Servaasbrug. For centuries, it looked very different here. ‘ Het Bat ’ was an important unloading quay, where ships moored with their cargo.

From the ‘ Meuse ’ to the city
For centuries, the ‘ Meuse ’ was a major route for the transport of goods. Consequently, the area around ‘ Het Bat ’ was a hive of activity with ships and workers coming and going. All manner of goods were loaded and unloaded there, including coal from the Liège area.

Work on the quay was hard. Cargo had to be unloaded from the ships and transported further afield. As such, ‘ Het Bat ’ was, for a long time, a place where trade along the ‘ Meuse ’ and everyday life in Maastricht converged.

From ‘ Het Bat ’ to ‘batteraof’
The name still reveals something about this place’s former function. ‘Bat’ is a Southern Dutch word for a quay or a bank that has been reinforced, for example with wood. That is where the name ‘ Het Bat ’ comes from.

The Maastricht word ‘batteraof’ is also associated with this spot. Here, men used to carry heavy sacks of coal from Liège on their backs. The coal dust turned them black whilst they worked, as black as ravens. Het Bat ’s workers were also known as sturdy, sometimes rather rough lads. According to tradition, the name ‘batteraof’ became associated with these workers. Later, in Maastricht, it also came to be used to describe a naughty or mischievous child.

From unloading quay to waterside spot
The ships, coal sacks and labourers have disappeared from the streetscape. The ‘ Meuse ’ still defines Het Bat . From the quay, Wyck lies on the opposite bank and the Sint Servaasbrug can be seen further on.

Het Bat is also home to the bronze statue of Mercury, the Roman god of commerce. The statue was erected here in 1982 and faces the Meuse. It therefore fits in almost perfectly with this location. Whilst the view across the water is particularly striking today, for centuries ships used to dock here to load and unload goods.