The Prison, Maastricht, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Dinghuis, listed here as The Prison, stands at Kleine Staat 1 in Maastricht and is one of the oldest buildings in the city. It began as a courthouse in the 15th century, had cells in its cellar, and today it houses the Maastricht tourist office, so you can walk straight past it or step inside.

The story behind it

The name Dinghuis comes from the old word for a court of law. The building was put up around 1470 and served as the city's courthouse for close to two centuries. Beneath it lay cellar cells where people were held, a reminder that justice in the Middle Ages could be harsh, with sentences that included beheading and hanging.

The building has not come through history untouched. When French forces bombarded Maastricht in 1793, the Dinghuis was so badly damaged that it had to be lowered by a floor, which is why it looks more compact than you might expect. In the centuries since it has been put to many different uses, and now it serves visitors as the city's tourist office.

What to look for

• Look at the proportions of the building as a whole, and remember that it lost a floor after the bombardment of 1793.
• Notice the old stone walls of the facade, which have outlasted sieges, repairs and changes of use over more than five centuries.
• Think about the cellar beneath your feet, where the prison cells once were, as you stand outside the entrance.
• Take in the street name Kleine Staat and the lanes around it, a pocket of Maastricht's old centre that is easy to walk through slowly.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 10 to 15 minutes for the building itself, longer if you stop at the tourist office for maps and local advice. Check current opening hours before you go.
• Seeing the outside is free, and since the building works as a tourist office you can usually step in to ask questions.
• Morning is a calm time to take photos of the facade before the centre fills up.
• The Dinghuis is in the old centre, so it fits easily into a walk that takes in the Markt and other nearby squares and streets.

See it on a quest

Maastricht Knights: Medieval Adventure Escape Game is a good way to see this place, because you reach the Dinghuis on foot as one stop of a longer route through the old town. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle based on what is in front of you, so the medieval courthouse becomes something to investigate rather than just a facade to photograph. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group. You can start whenever suits you, with no guide and no group to join.