Limburg mijn Vaderland

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Limburg mijn Vaderland (Limburg my native country) is the anthem of Limburg, a region split up in two parts: Belgian Limburg and Dutch Limburg. Since Limburg is not a country, the anthem is not official, but it is regarded as such in the whole Limburgian territory. The last verse, which is about the Dutch royal family, is almost never sung since it is irrelevant for the people of Belgian Limburg and as a later addition is not regarded as part of the traditional lyric.

The anthem has been written by schoolteacher Gerard Krekelberg in 1909 . The melody was composed by Hendrik (or Henri) Thyssen from Roermond. Henri Thyssen also wrote the anthem for Roermond, Oud en trouw Roermond. The anthem was written in Dutch.

In everyday life in Limburg around 1900 Dutch was of no importance. Everything was done in Limburgs. Newspapers in the 19th and early 20th century were written in German or Limburgs and in most parts of Limburg German was the language used in church and education. In this time Maastricht still had a very strong connection with French-speaking areas around Liege . Krekelberg's poem puts quite a lot of emphasis on the unity of (Dutch) Limburg, which was at the time -and arguably still is- a rather culturally diverse area.

The lyrics are written in Dutch. When played, usually only the first stanza is sung.