Beschrijving
Hobbe van Aylva (1696-1772) was a Dutch nobleman, military commander, and governor of Maastricht. He began his career in the service of Stadtholder William IV and later became a colonel in the Dutch army. During the War of the Austrian Succession, he commanded the fortress of Maastricht and defended the city during the French siege of 1748. Although Maastricht was forced to surrender, Aylva and his troops were allowed to leave with full military honors. As governor after the war, he strengthened the city's defenses, improved military facilities, and founded one of the Netherlands' earliest gentlemen's clubs, the Groote Sociëteit, remaining governor until his death in 1772.
Engraving by L.A. Claessens after Van Dyk.
