Maaseik

Altitude: 70m/230ft

Population: 21,000

In the extreme northeast of Belgium right on the frontier with the Netherlands lies Maaseik, the birthplace of the Flemish painters Hubert and Jan van Eyck. There was a monastery here as early as the eighth C. around which arose a village which was later destroyed; a new village grew up around the castle, built in the 11th C., and from this developed Maaseik. Thanks to its favorable position on the Meuse the town had some importance as a commercial center, but after the separation of Belgium from the Netherlands Maaseik became remote. However the town has always been interesting because of its many examples of the Renaissance architecture of the Meuse area.