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The Museum aan het Vrijthof (previously: ''Museum Spaans Gouvernement'') is a museum of (local) history, art and artifacts in Maastricht, Netherlands. ==History of the building== The museum is housed in the so-called ''Spanish Government'' building, one of the oldest non-religious buildings in Maastricht, facing the city's main square, Vrijthof. The building was originally part of the ecclesiastical territory of the chapter of the church of Saint Servatius and was probably built for one of the chapter's canons. In the early 16th century the house was rebuilt and enlarged. At that time the facade on the ground floor was largely blind, except for an arched gateway that led into the courtyard. The three late Gothic windows on the first floor date from this period. Two of them show the pillars of Hercules and the motto of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor: 'Plus ultra'. The third window, in the middle, carries the symbols of Habsburg power: the double-headed eagle with the coat of arms of Habsburg and Castile. A little later, an arcade in Liège Renaissance style was added on the side of the courtyard which bears similarity to the architecture of the main courtyard of the Prince-Bishops' Palace in Liège. The colonnade frieze has three sculpted medallions with the portraits of (probably) Charles V, his wife Isabella of Portugal and their son Philip II of Spain, who stayed here at several occasions.〔''El felicissimo viaje del muy alto y muy poderoso Príncipe don Phelippe, hijo del emperador don Carlos Quinto Máximo, desde España a sus tierras de la baxa Alemana: con la descripción de todos los Estados de Brabante y Flandes'', by Juan Calvete de Estrella (Antwerp, M. Nucio, 1552; reprinted in Madrid, 2001)〕 It was probably here that Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and Governor of the Netherlands, signed the declaration that made William the Silent, leader of the Dutch Revolt, an outlaw. It was during this period that the building acquired its name ''Spanish Government'' building (Dutch: Spaans Gouvernement). In the 18th and 19th centuries the interior of the building was altered several times. It was during this time that extra windows were put in place on the ground floor. In 1766, the Parisian printer and editor Jean-Edmé Dufour bought the building and used it as a print shop. It was from here that many books prohibited in France were smuggled into the country.〔() ‘Made by Jean-Edmé Dufour’, on the museum website〕 In 1913 the building was publicly sold. Part of it was demolished and replaced in 1923 by a building that is now in use as a bank (corner St Jacobstraat). The rest of the building was restored by Victor de Stuers and presented to the city of Maastricht in order to house a local history museum (which did not happen until recently). From 1969-1973, and again from 2010-2012, thorough restorations took place. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Museum aan het Vrijthof」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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