# The Vrijthof of Maastricht



## Redpixies

Hello Dutch friends!
I need your help becouse I've found this sentence and I wasn't able to work out if Vrijthof is Dutch for "Square" or if that is the proper name of this square in Maastricht. 

Thanks a lot!


----------



## Kayla321

It is the name of the square in Maastricht. Square in general is _markt _or _plein_.


----------



## Redpixies

Thank you very much


----------



## George French

Redpixies:- "I wasn't able to work out if Vrijthof is Dutch for "Square" or if that is the *proper name* of this square in Maastricht."

The capital *V* in *V*rijthof implies that it is a *proper noun*.

GF..

Redpixies, if you want to follow this up take a look in this Wikipedia page...

Simple online researches can teach you much more than posting questions..... There are many online dictionaries that would help you. See the stickies here 

Vrijthof is *not* in any online dictionary I have looked at....


----------



## Redpixies

Well, I know the difference between small and capital letter, anyway... precisely because of my online research i had this doubt: I've found everywhere The Vrijthof without a name that could mean Square/Plaza following. Maybe this is a common practice in Dutch, not in Italian nor English nor Spanish, the only languages I more or less know. I just needed a confirmation


----------



## George French

Redpixies said:


> Well, I know the difference between small and capital letter, anyway... precisely because of my online research i had this doubt: I've found everywhere The Vrijthof without a name that could mean Square/Plaza following. Maybe this is a common practice in Dutch, not in Italian nor English nor Spanish, the only languages I more or less know. I just needed a confirmation


 
Try this page..... http://www.take-a-trip.eu/nl/maastricht/bezienswaardigheden/vrijthof
"Een vrijthof is een omheinde plaats of voorhof van een kerk. Voor het *Vrijthof *in Maastricht is deze laatste van toepassing. "​GF..
Definition of vrijthof:- kerkplein, omheinde plaats. (From a Koenen dictionary.)


----------



## HKK

A little piece of folklore: the first time I spent a day in Maastricht, I was with a few friends and we visited the Vrijthof. There was an old man sitting on a bench and he sang the song of the Vrijthof to us. It went like this:
" 't Vrijthof op en neer,
't Vrijthof op en neer."

Except the word Vrijthof was pronounced like Friethof.
Anyway, that was just some "couleur local" and we were delighted to hear the song


----------

