Sphinxkwartier - Maastricht, Netherlands
Posted by: 
Narayan,
N 50° 51.360 E 005° 41.345
31U E 689261 N 5637257
Former ceramics factory being converted to a new city district and cultural center.
Waymark Code: WM14D6X
Location: Limburg, Netherlands
Date Posted: 06/15/2021
Views: 4
In 1834, the industrialist Petrus Regout founded a company in Maastricht, which produced glassware, dishes and houseware ceramics. After Regout's death, the company was renamed to "Koninklijke Sphinx" and focused on tiles and sanitary installations like toilets and sinks. Having been the first industrialized mass fabrication in the Netherlands, Sphinx is said to have intitiated the Dutch industrial revolution.
The company premises in the North of the Mastricht city center included several factory buildings, courts and even an own port. When the factory was finally closed in 2009, there were already plans to convert the space to a new cultural, creative and business district. Since 2013 the abondoned buildings are being renovated and converted to shops, workshops, offices and apartments. The work is still in progress, but most buildings are completed and occupied.
Today, artisanry shops, music studios, co-working spaces, a cinema, a student hotel and apartments are located in the old factory buildings. In a passage, the history of the Sphinxkwartier and of the company Sphinx is displayed in multiple cabinets and information boards, including exhibits of the most famous products of Sphinx. The main court between the factory buildings is used as a public parking ground.