Hidden gems: the history of Duboisdomein 30
Maastricht University takes care of many distinctive buildings and art works that we all know. By giving them a new purpose, we preserve these icons and give them a new meaning, making them the vibrant heart of a bustling city.
Did you know that these buildings and art works also provide access to various special places and stories? Let yourself be surprised and join us in this series exploring the hidden gems of the university and the city of Maastricht.
Many a Limburger used to deliver newspapers like De Limburger or its predecessors in their youth. All these (former) newspaper deliverers can still remember it clearly: setting off at dawn with heavy bags on your bike rack and a just as heavy bag strung over your shoulder to slip the newspapers into the letterboxes of the subscribers. And that was no easy feat, as the newspapers – especially the Saturday editions – were made from such thick paper back then that they often didn't fit inside the letterboxes.
The ‘Black Box’ or ‘Zwarte Doos’, as the building at Duboisdomein 30 is referred to colloquially, sits along the Kennedybrug in Maastricht. This building once housed the main office of De Limburger. The main office moved in 1993 from the centre of Maastricht, specifically Wolfstraat/Havenstraat, to the Randwyck neighbourhood. The printing presses moved with it.
In 2022, De Limburger moved to the town of Sittard. After a number of takeovers and other moves, the editorial staff now reside in a building on the Kennedybrug. The newspaper is printed in Belgium and Noord-Limburg.
Text continues below the photo.
The building 'DUB 30' (Duboisdomein 30) has been transformed from a commercial building into the home of several research groups and facilities within the Faculty of Science and Engineering, including the European ET Pathfinder test location for the Einstein Telescope. The project office for preparing a Dutch-Belgium-German bid for hosting ET in the Euregio also has its offices here. Using gravitational waves, the Einstein Telescope will make it possible to investigate the formation and development of our universe. So, we’ll be able to go right back to the big bang!
Additionally, DUB 30 is an educational building with laboratories, housing the Facility Services department and part of the Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Life Sciences. However, many elements in the building still remind us of the time of De Limburger and the printing presses.
Text: Gido Boere and Evert van Zoeren
Photography: Joris Hilterman
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Maastricht University takes care of many distinctive buildings and art works that we all know. By giving them a new purpose, we preserve these icons and give them a new meaning, making them the vibrant heart of a bustling city.
Did you know that these buildings and art works also provide access to various special places and stories? Let yourself be surprised and join us in this series exploring the hidden gems of the university and the city of Maastricht.
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