Limburg (Netherlands)

Limburg is the southern-most of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands, located in the south-east of the country. It is bordered by Belgium in the west, Germany in the east, and the province of North Brabant in the north.

Limburg
Province of the Netherlands

File:Flag limburg.jpg File:Coa limburg.jpg
File:NetherlandsLimburg.png
Capital	Maastricht
Queen's Commissioner	B. van Voorst tot Voorst
Area  - Total  - % water	11th 2,211.70 km²  ?%
Population  - Total (2002)  - Density	5th 1,142,737 471/km²
Inclusion	1839
Anthem	In 't bronsgroen eikenhout

History and Politics

Politically, Limburg used to look like a patch quilt with many counties and other sorts of properties carving up the land. A result that can still be noticed today is that the inhabitants of each municipality speak their own, distinct language.

In 1814/1815, with the formation of the new Kingdom of the Netherlands, one of the provinces received the name Limburg. The name of the new province derived from an old duchy that had existed until 1648 within the triangle Maastricht - Liège - Aachen.

When the Netherlands and Belgium separated in 1830, there was support for adding Limburg to Belgium, but in the end (1839) the province was divided in two, with the eastern part going to the Netherlands and the western part to Belgium. Dutch Limburg was from that moment on, as the Duchy Limburg, also part of the German Confederation.

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

Politics

The provincial council (Provinciale Staten) has 63 seats, and is headed by the governor, currently Baron B. van Voorst tot Voorst. While the provincial council is elected by the inhabitants, the 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 Commissioner (Governor); its members (gedeputeerden) can be compared with ministers.

Municipalities

Ambt Montfort Arcen en Velden Beek Beesel Bergen Brunssum Echt-Susteren Eijsden Gennep Gulpen-Wittem Haelen Heel Heerlen Helden Heythuysen Horst aan de Maas Hunsel Kerkrade Kessel Landgraaf Maasbracht Maasbree Maastricht Margraten

Meerlo-Wanssum Meerssen Meijel Mook en Middelaar Nederweert Nuth Onderbanken Roerdalen Roermond Roggel en Neer Schinnen Sevenum Simpelveld Sittard-Geleen Stein Swalmen Thorn 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.

Limburg's surface consists mainly of sand. The most important river is the Meuse, that passes through the entire length of the province from South to North.

Major cities are the provincial capital Maastricht in the south, the urban agglomerations of Sittard-Geleen and Heerlen-Kerkrade, Roermond and Venlo.

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 (Venlo) are also present.

See also

• Goat riders
• Limburg (Belgium)

External Links

• Official Website (in Dutch)
• province map showing subdivision in municipalities, link for each municipality to basic data page