Limburg

 

(lĭm'bûrg, Du. lĭm'bûrkh) , Fr. Limbourg, province (1991 pop. 750,435), 930 sq mi (2,409 sq km), NE Belgium, bordering on the Netherlands in the north. The chief cities are Hasselt (the capital), Tongeren, and Sint-Truiden. The province is bordered in the east by the Meuse River and is crossed by the Albert Canal. It is largely agricultural; dairy products, fruit, grains, and sugar beets as well as market garden produce are cultivated. Coal is mined, although in decreasing quantities, in the Campine region in the north. Most of Limburg was included in the prince-bishopric of Liège until 1792. It became (1815) part of the Dutch province of Limburg, which was divided between Belgium and the Netherlands in 1839. Limburg's population is largely Dutch-speaking.

Provincie Limburg Province of Limburg
Flag Coat of arms
Capital	Maastricht
Queen's Commissioner	L.J.P.M. (Leon) Frissen (governer)
Religion (1999)	Roman Catholic 80% Protestant 3%
Area  • Land  • Water	2,153 km² (9th) 56 km²
Population (2006)  • Total  • Density	1,131,938 (6th) 526/km² (4th)
Inclusion	1839
Anthem	In 't Bronsgroen Eikenhout
ISO	NL-LI
Official website	www.limburg.nl

<imagemap> image:Netherlands map large.png|thumb|px|Map of the Netherlands, linking to the province pages; the red dots mark the capitals of the provinces and the black dots other notable cities or towns

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poly 481 243 420 297 376 406 441 445 513 390 532 323 557 312 518 259 Flevoland poly 518 258 573 247 601 220 617 221 632 206 611 164 581 143 606 84 597 57 625 19 459 26 356 62 323 124 383 197 425 237 449 266 482 239 Friesland poly 440 448 512 390 526 357 547 368 560 360 583 396 570 418 593 443 642 440 658 460 690 458 715 483 726 521 716 551 647 581 561 606 464 582 414 609 389 605 360 591 360 575 392 531 484 538 455 497 Gelderland poly 626 8 670 6 745 66 786 110 789 181 770 236 691 147 645 123 611 157 584 141 611 91 602 60 630 20 Groningen poly 535 603 574 669 531 667 552 727 496 749 477 776 527 809 490 903 503 928 572 932 595 872 553 841 550 836 610 800 583 776 621 731 602 661 573 609 Limburg poly 473 776 406 767 343 725 227 738 207 730 196 680 197 643 236 623 292 613 336 586 353 584 386 609 414 611 464 585 529 601 570 667 527 664 545 726 494 745 North Brabant poly 319 120 447 268 416 297 375 404 406 430 398 462 380 462 362 446 350 429 318 453 275 453 255 416 270 203 North Holland poly 699 316 751 365 772 394 772 444 721 482 692 456 656 456 642 438 595 441 576 419 589 395 562 359 547 365 527 355 533 327 562 313 523 261 574 249 590 265 574 276 583 295 626 320 658 323 677 308 Overijssel poly 252 416 154 525 112 594 159 620 196 639 234 620 290 610 337 581 356 583 389 532 381 523 339 544 319 520 326 501 315 484 337 474 318 455 273 455 South Holland poly 410 433 434 445 453 495 479 536 392 530 378 521 339 542 324 518 329 498 316 485 341 472 321 455 349 432 378 465 400 463 Utrecht poly 196 641 194 683 204 736 156 783 111 782 42 772 12 747 15 716 31 665 103 591 Zeeland </imagemap>

This article deals with a province in the Netherlands. For other uses of Limburg, see: Limburg.

Limburg  pronunciation? is the southern-most of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands, located in the south-east of the country. Its capital is Maastricht. It is bordered by Belgium in the west, Germany in the east, and the provinces of North Brabant and Gelderland in the north. Limburg has a highly distinct character. The social and economic trends which affected the province in recent decades generated a process of change and renewal which has enabled Limburg to transform the drawbacks of its national peripheral location into advantages inherent in its European settings, linking the Netherlands to Europe.

History

Limburg's name derives from the fortified castle town known as Limbourg, situated on the river Vesdre in the Ardennes, currently in the Belgian province of Liège. It was the seat of the medieval Duchy of Limburg which extended into the Meuse region north of the city of Liège. However, most the area of the current Dutch Limburg was not part of this polity but was divided among several states including the Duchy of Brabant, the Duchy of Jülich, and the Bishopric of Liège, as well as the Duchy of Limburg. A result of this division is still evident in the plethora of distinct varieties of the Limburgish language spoken in Limburg municipalities.

For centuries, the area of the current Dutch Limburg's strategic location made it a much-coveted region among Europe's major powers. Romans, Spaniards, Prussians, Habsburg Austrians and French have all ruled Limburg. In 1673, Louis XIV personally commanded the siege of Maastricht by French troops. During the siege, one of his brigadiers, Count Charles d'Artagnan, perished; he subsequently became known as a major character in The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père (1802–1870). Limburg was also the scene of many a bloody battle during the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), in which the Dutch Republic threw off Spanish rule. At the battle of Mookerhei (14 April 1574), two brothers of Prince William of Orange-Nassau and thousands of "Dutch" mercenaries lost their lives. Most Limburgians fought on the Spanish side, being Catholics and hating the Dutch.

Following the Napoleonic Era, the great powers (United Kingdom, Prussia, the Austrian Empire, the Russian Empire and France) united the region with the new United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. A new province was formed and was to receive the name "Maastricht," after its capital. The first king, William I, who did not want the name Limburg to be lost, insisted that the name be changed to "Limburg." As such, the name of the new province derived from the old Duchy of Limburg that had existed until 1648 within the triangle of Maastricht, Liège, and Aachen.

When the Catholic and French-speaking Belgians split away from the mainly Calvinist, Dutch Netherlands in the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the Province of Limburg was at first almost entirely under Belgian rule. However, by the 1839 Treaty of London, the province was divided in two, with the eastern part going to the Netherlands and the western part to Belgium, a division that remains today.

With the Treaty of London, what is now the Belgian Province of Luxembourg was handed over to Belgium and removed from the German Confederation. To appease Prussia, which had also lost access to the Meuse after the Congress of Vienna, the Dutch province of Limburg (but not the cities of Maastricht and Venlo), was a joined to the German Confederation between 1839 and 1866 as the Duchy of Limburg, while remaining an integral part of the Dutch territory.

The province used the title of "duchy" until 1906. Another idiosyncrasy survives today: the head of the province, referred to as the "Queen's Commissioner" in other provinces, is addressed as "Governor" in Limburg.

The Second World War cost the lives of many civilians in Limburg, and a large number of towns and villages were destroyed by bombings and artillery battles. Various cemeteries, too, bear witness to this dark chapter in Limburg's history. Almost eight and a half thousand United States' soldiers who perished during the liberation of the Netherlands lie buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten. Other big war cemeteries are to be found at Overloon (British soldiers) and the Ysselsteyn German war cemetery was constructed in the Municipality of Venray for the 31,000 German soldiers who lost their lives.

In December 1991, the European Community (nowadays European Union) held a summit in Maastricht. At that summit, the so-called Maastricht treaty was signed by the European Community member states. The original name for that treaty was "Treaty of the European Union". With that treaty, the European Union came into existence. In 't Bronsgroen Eikenhout is the official anthem of both Belgian and Dutch Limburg.

Languages

Main article: Limburgish language

Limburg has its own language, called Limburgish (Dutch: Limburgs). This is, since 1997, an official regional language, and as such receives moderate protection under Chapter 2 of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. It is not recognised by the Dutch, German and Belgian governments as an official language. Limburgish is spoken by an estimated 1,6 million people in both Belgian and Dutch Limburg and Germany. There are many different dialects in the Limburgish language. Almost every town and village has its own slightly different dialect. Dialects more toward the German border and in Germany (near Aachen for instance) have a more German influence, while dialects spoken in the Meuse (Dutch: Maas) valley have a more French tone to them. Even within the cities of Venlo and Maastricht, very different dialects separated by major isoglosses continue to exist. These distinctions have been around for hundreds if not thousands of years. It also shows signs of Celtic substrates.

Politics

The provincial council (Provinciale Staten) has 63 seats, and is headed by a Governor, rather than a Queen's Commissioner, currently Leon Frissen. While the provincial council is elected by the inhabitants, the Queen's Commissioner (Governor) is appointed by the Queen and the cabinet of the Netherlands. The Christian CDA is currently the largest party in the council.

The daily affairs of the province are taken care of by the Gedeputeerde Staten, which are also headed by the Queen's Commissioner (Governor); its members (gedeputeerden) can be compared with ministers.

Municipalities

Arcen en Velden Beek Beesel Bergen Brunssum Echt-Susteren Eijsden Gennep Gulpen-Wittem Heerlen Helden Horst aan de Maas Kerkrade Kessel Landgraaf Leudal Maasbree Maasgouw Maastricht Margraten

Meerlo-Wanssum Meerssen Meijel Mook en Middelaar Nederweert Nuth Onderbanken Roerdalen Roermond Schinnen Sevenum Simpelveld Sittard-Geleen Stein Vaals Valkenburg aan de Geul Venlo Venray Voerendaal Weert

Geography

The south of the province is remarkable when compared to the rest of the country, as it is one of the few regions that has hills. The highest point in the Netherlands, the Vaalserberg, is situated in Limburg. The most important river is the Meuse, that passes through the entire length of the province from South to North. Limburg's surface is largely formed by deposits from this Meuse river, consisting of river clay, fertile loessial soil and large deposits of pebblestone, currently being quarried for the construction industry. In northern parts of the province, further away from the river bed, the soil primarily consists of sand and peat. Major cities are the provincial capital Maastricht in the south, the urban agglomerations of Sittard-Geleen and Heerlen. Limburg makes up one region of the International Organization for Standardization world region code system, having the code ISO 3166-2:NL-LI.

Economy

In the past peat, gravel and coal were mined in Limburg. The state-owned corporation that used to mine in Limburg, DSM, is currently a major chemical company, still operating in Limburg. Automotive industry (Born) and production of copiers and printers (Océ in Venlo) are also present.

Famous Limburgians

• Henri Arends (1921-1993) - conductor
• Doris Baaten (1956) - musical actress
• Gerard Bergholtz (1939) - pro soccerplayer
• Vivian Boelen (1956) - television presentator
• Mark van Bommel (1977) - soccer player
• Jo van den Booren (1935) - componist, conductor
• Alphons Boosten (1893-1951) - architect
• Willy Brokamp (1946, Kerkrade) - former pro soccer player
• Jeroen Brouwers (1940, Djakarta) - writer, essayist
• Frans Budé (1945) - poet/ writer
• Alphonsus Castermans (1924) - bishop of Roermond
• Jo Coenen (1949, Hoensbroek) - architect
• Pieke Dassen (1926-2007) - actor, puppet player, small arts performer
• Peter 'Pie' Debye (1884-1966) - physician, Nobelprize winner
• Pieter Defesche (1921-1998) - visual artist, painter, graphical artist
• Thei Dols (1939) - comedian, singer
• Jon van Eerd (1960) - actor
• Robert Franquinet (1915-1979) - writer
• Jochum ten Haaf (1978) - actor
• Yvonne Habets (1948-2007) - journalist
• Joop Haex (1911-2002) - politician
• Willy Hautvast (1932) - componist
• Mylène de la Haye - television presentator
• Sander de Heer (1975) - radio-dj
• Jos Hessels (1965) - member 'Tweede Kamer' CDA
• Theo Hiddema (1944) - advocate
• Maria van der Hoeven (1949, Meerssen) - CDA-politician
• Willem Hofhuizen (1915, Amsterdam - 1986, Maastricht) - expressive artist
• Pieter van den Hoogenband (1978) - pro swimmer and olympic champion
• Edmond Hustinx (1898-1984) - inventor
• Gied Jaspars (1939, Gronsveld – 1996, Amsterdam) - director
• Adam van Kan (1877-1944) - scientist
• Pierre Kemp (1886-1967) - peot
• Beppie Kraft (1946) - singer
• Sjeng Kraft (1924-1999) - songwriter,
• Eugenie van Agt-Krekelberg - wife of Dries van Agt
• Lambertus (650-705) - bishop of Maastricht
• Gerd Leers (1951, Kerkrade) - mayor
• Fred Limpens (1942) - producer, componist and text writer
• Jo Maas (1954, Eijsden) - former pro cyclist
• Leon Melchior; former representative of national hippic sports.
• Felix Meurders (1946) - presentator
• Jan Pieter Minckeleers (1748-1824) - physician, inventor
• Bram Moszkowicz (1960) - advocate
• Max Moszkowicz sr.- advocate
• Hadewych Minis (1977) - actress
• Benny Neyman (1951) - singer
• Rob Noortman (1946-2007) - arts trader
• Ruben L. Oppenheimer (1975) - cartoonist
• Henriëtte d'Oultremont de Wégimont (1792-1864)- 2nd wife of King Willem I
• Jan Peumans (1951) - Vlaams politician
• Petrus Regout (1801-1878) - first Dutch capitalist and entrepreneur
• André Rieu (1949) - musician, orchestra director
• Fred Rompelberg (1945) - cyclist, in Guinness Book of Records
• Willy Schobben - Trompettist
• Servatius (died 384) - bishop
• Kees Simhoffer (1934-2002) - writer
• Huub Stevens (1953) - soccer player and coach
• Sjeng Tans (1912-1993) - politician
• Charles Thewissen (1905-1973) - historian
• Jac. P. Thijsse (1865-1945) - biologist, ecologist
• Johann Friedrich August Tischbein (1750-1812) - painter
• Louis Toebosch (1916) - componist, music teacher and organist
• Hans van der Togt (1947)- presentator
• Henrik van Veldeke (12e eeuw) - poet
• Maxime Verhagen (1956)- politician
• Nico de Vries (1961) - actor
• Peggy Vrijens (1976) - actress
• Hans van de Waarsenburg (1943, Helmond) - poet, chair man of The Maastricht International Poetry Nights
• B. van Wijckmade (1923-2001) - writer of children's books ("Wipneus en Pim")
• Ad Wijnands (1959) - former pro cyclist
• Gé Reinders (1953)- singer
• Henri Gerard Winkelman (1876-1952) - soldier
• Boudewijn Zenden (1976) - soccer player
• Bert Smeets (1951) - musician, film maker

See also

Another major activity is production of "Weerter Vlaai", a pastry.

• Goat riders
• Mining in Limburg
• Limburg (Belgium)
• Duchy of Limburg

External links

• Official Website (in Dutch and English)
• Map of Province
• The Maastricht Treaty
• Pictures of Maastricht, Capital of Limburg
• [1]

Provinces of the Netherlands
Drenthe • Flevoland • Friesland • Gelderland • Groningen • Limburg • North Brabant • North Holland • Overijssel • South Holland • Utrecht • Zeeland

Coordinates: 51°12′36″N, 5°56′10″Ends-nl:Limburg (Nederlaand)ksh:Lėmburrsh (Provinß, Nederläng)zea:Nederlands Limburg

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