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72-421: Limburg had a population of about 1,128,000 as of January 2023. Its main municipalities are the provincial capital Maastricht (population 120,837 as of January 2022), Venlo (population 102,176) in the northeast, as well as Sittard-Geleen (population 91,760, bordering both Belgium and Germany) and Heerlen (population 86,874) in the south. More than half of the population, approximately 650,000 people, live in

144-569: A condominium , sovereignty over this city was held jointly by the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and the Duchy of Brabant . Also, the central and northern part of present-day Limburg belonged to different political entities, notably the Duchy of Jülich and the Duchy of Guelders . By the late Middle Ages most of the present day territory of Limburg had been partitioned to the Duchy of Brabant,

216-562: A certain degree of independence in their policy decisions. Municipalities are responsible for a wide variety of public services , which include land-use planning , public housing , management and maintenance of local roads, waste management and social security . After the Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010 three special municipalities (officially public bodies ) were formed. These municipalities function

288-514: A delegation of Salian Franks who had recently settled in Toxandria (the modern Campine region), to the north of Tongeren. They wanted peace but spoke "as if the ground they had seized were rightfully their own". Julian gave ambiguous replies and then after the meetings sent a surprise attack along the Maas or Meuse river, and "they met him with entreaties rather than with resistance, he received

360-420: A derivation from a Germanic word "lint" meaning "dragon". Ironically the area under the direct lordship of the old Duchy did not overlap at all with the modern Belgian and Dutch provinces named after it today, though the medieval Duchy was a high status title in the region. On the other hand, while the Duchy's effective power was limited, the Duchy and what is now South Limburg (referred to as Overmaas) did have

432-626: A height of 322.4 metres (1,058 ft) above NAP , rising approximately 110 metres above the village Vaals, where three countries ( Netherlands , Belgium and Germany ) border each other at the so-called " Three-country-point ". Limburg's main river is the Meuse , which passes through the province's entire length from south to north. Limburg's surface is largely formed by deposits from the Meuse, consisting of river clay, fertile loessial soil and large deposits of pebblestone, currently being quarried for

504-669: 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 8,500 American 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

576-671: A long history of connection under the lordship of the Dukes of Brabant . During this long period, from the Middle Ages until the French Revolution , they were sometimes referred to collectively under one name (Overmaas or Limburg). After 1794, it was the French Republic which unified the region, along with Belgian Limburg, and removed all ties to the old feudal society (the ancien regime ). The new name, as with all

648-643: A loss of economic importance. Limburg was the scene of many bloody battles during the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), in which the Dutch Republic threw off Habsburg Spanish rule. At the Battle of Mookerheyde (14 April 1574), two brothers of Prince William of Orange-Nassau and thousands of " Dutch " mercenaries died. Most Limburgians fought on the Spanish side, being Catholics and being opposed to

720-521: A major character in The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père (1802–1870). The modern boundaries of Dutch Limburg, along with its neighbour, Belgian Limburg, were basically set during the period after the French Revolution , which erased much of the " ancien regime " of Europe, with all its old boundaries and titles. These two provinces were part of a new French département , named (like many départements ) after

792-615: A result of the Battle of Worringen , then in the 15th century under the Duchy of Burgundy . By 1473, the Lands of Overmaas and the Duchy of Limburg formed one unified delegation to the States General of the Burgundian Netherlands . Both the terms Overmaas and Limburg came to be used loosely to refer to this sparsely populated province of the so-called Seventeen Provinces . Maastricht was never part of this polity: as

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864-410: A time by the crown and the alderman are elected by the municipal council, typically after each municipal election. The mayor is responsible for public order and is the first in command during emergencies, all other tasks are distributed freely between mayor and aldermen. The exact portfolio for each person differs between each municipality. Official municipal boundaries were first drawn up in 1832 in

936-418: A whole. Dialects in the north, nearby Venray and Gennep , are classified as Kleverlandish and are closely connected to the dialects in the northeast of Brabant (Land van Cuijk) and the region of Nijmegen . Dialects in the southeast (near Aachen ) are closer to Ripuarian and are sometimes classified as Southeast Limburgish . Dialects in the western part of Limburg, surrounding Weert , are influenced by

1008-441: A wide range of sizes, Westervoort is the smallest with a land area of 7.01 km (2.71 sq mi) and Súdwest-Fryslân the largest with a land area of 522.7 km (201.8 sq mi). Schiermonnikoog is both the least populated, with 972 people, and the least densely populated municipality at 23/km (60/sq mi). Amsterdam has the highest population with 931,298 residents as of January 2024, whereas The Hague

1080-647: Is appointed by the King and the cabinet of the Netherlands. Since December 2021 Emile Roemer ( SP ) has been holding the office of governor. Since the 2011 elections the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) was the largest party in the council, although the Party for Freedom (PVV) won the most votes during the election. However, two members of the PVV left the party, taking their seats with them, which lost

1152-685: Is located on the Chemelot campus in Sittard-Geleen , which is bounded by the Chemelot Industrial Park, one of Western Europe's biggest industrial sites. At this moment 8000 people work at Chemelot, of which 1000 are active at the Campus. The innovation and licensing division Stamicarbon of DSM was sold in 2009 to Maire Tecnimont, the parent company of an engineering, main contracting and licensing group that operates worldwide in

1224-572: Is the most densely populated with a density of 6,868/km (17,790/sq mi). As a second level administrative division municipalities are the third tier of public administration in the Netherlands after the central government and the provinces . The Netherlands is a decentralized unitary state , which means that the central government is supreme and delegates certain tasks to lower levels of government by law. The different levels do, however, make work agreements, which give municipalities

1296-549: Is the official language and the one most used, Limburgish is currently considered a regional language as described in the a page of the Dutch Government. It has been an official regional language since 1997 and it receives moderate protection under Chapter 2 of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . The German and Belgian governments do not recognise it as an official language. Before

1368-671: Is the oldest town in Belgium , as the only Roman administrative capital within the country's borders. As a Roman city, it was inhabited by the Tungri , and known as Atuatuca Tungrorum , it was the administrative centre of the Civitas Tungrorum district. The Romans referred to Tongeren as Aduatuca Tungrorum or Atuatuca Tongrorum , and it was the capital of the large Roman province of Civitas Tungrorum , an area which covered modern Belgian Limburg , and at least parts of all

1440-907: The Calvinist Hollanders . In the early modern era, Limburg was largely divided between the Spanish Netherlands (the Austrian Netherlands after 1714), Prussia , the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and many small independent fiefs . In 1673, Louis XIV personally commanded the siege of Maastricht by French troops. During the siege, one of his brigadiers, Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan , perished. He subsequently became known as

1512-666: The European Community (now European Union ) held a summit in Maastricht. At that summit, the "Treaty on European Union" or so-called Maastricht Treaty was signed by the European Community member states. With that treaty, the European Union came into existence. Limburg mijn Vaderland (Limburg my Fatherland) is the official anthem of both Belgian and Dutch Limburg. Although standard Dutch

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1584-650: The Germani . But many modern writers believe that the Gallo-Roman population of the area contained a significant amount of more recent Germanic immigrants from across the Rhine. Located on the important road linking Cologne to Bavay via the relay of Liberchies , and surrounded by the fertile lands of the Hesbaye region, Roman Tongeren quickly became one of the largest Gallo-Roman administrative and military towns in

1656-747: The Ysselsteyn German war cemetery was constructed in the Municipality of Venray for the 31,000 German soldiers who died. According to the research of Herman van Rens, the residents of Limburg were especially active in hiding local and refugee Jews during the Holocaust , to the extent that the Jewish population even increased during the war. Jews in hiding were three times as likely to survive in Limburg as in Amsterdam. In December 1991,

1728-731: The 10th century, the Eastern kingdom consolidated its control of Lotharingia and became the Holy Roman Empire . In the first decades of this empire the founding imperial family had close ties to areas in what is today northern Limburg. The emperor Otto III for instance was born in 980 in Kessel , practically on the current border between Limburg and North Rhine-Westphalia , just east from Gennep . In 1080 in Genneperhuis  [ nl ] , just north of Gennep, Norbert of Gennep

1800-734: The 20th century, most newspapers were in French or in German, and schools in Maastricht taught French, as the city has historic ties with the Belgian city of Liège . Other parts of the province taught German. Limburgish is spoken by an estimated 1.6 million people in Dutch Limburg, Belgian Limburg , and Germany. There are many different dialects of Limburgish; almost every town and village has its own. A lot of isoglosses cross through Limburg. No single dialect can fully represent Limburgish as

1872-587: The Duchy of Gelderland, the Duchy of Jülich, the Prince-Bishopric of Liège or the Electorate of Cologne . These dukes, prince-bishops and prince-electors were nominal subordinates of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, but in practice acted as independent sovereigns who were often at war with each other. These conflicts were often fought in and over Limburg, contributing to its fragmentation and

1944-478: The Kingdom of the Netherlands, was reincorporated into the latter with the 1867 Treaty of London , though the term "Duchy of Limburg" remained in some official use until February 1907. Another idiosyncrasy survives today: the head of the province, referred to as the "King's Commissioner" in other provinces, is addressed as "Governor" in Limburg. The Second World War cost the lives of many civilians in Limburg, and

2016-491: The Maas valley became more culturally and politically one of the most important regions in Europe. In 714 Susteren Abbey was founded, as far as is known the first proprietary abbey in the current Netherlands. The main benefactor was Plectrude , the consort of Pepin of Herstal . Charles Martel was born in nearby Herstal . Charlemagne made Aachen , today a German city which has suburban sprawl stretching into South Limburg,

2088-669: The Meuse after the Congress of Vienna, the Dutch province of Limburg (excluding the cities of Maastricht and Venlo because without them Limburg's population equalled that of the Province of Luxembourg, 150,000), was joined to the German Confederation between 5 September 1839 and 23 August 1866 as the Duchy of Limburg . On 11 May 1867, the Duchy, which from 1839 on had been de jure a separate polity in personal union with

2160-553: The Netherlands Since 1 January 2023, there have been 342 regular municipalities ( Dutch : gemeenten ) and three special municipalities ( Dutch : bijzondere gemeenten ) in the Netherlands . The latter is the status of three of the six island territories that make up the Dutch Caribbean . Municipalities are the second-level administrative division, or public bodies ( Dutch : openbare lichamen ), in

2232-605: The Netherlands after a cadastre was formed. The Municipalities Act of 1851, written by prime minister Thorbecke , led to the disappearance of small municipalities. Throughout the years, less populous municipalities have been merged . They were either added to the larger neighbouring cities or multiple smaller municipalities merged into a larger new municipality with a new name. The number of municipalities reduced from 1,209 in 1850 to 537 in 2000; since 2024 there have been 342 municipalities. During this time, multiple mergers occurred simultaneously in large parts of individual provinces;

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2304-529: The Netherlands and are subdivisions of their respective provinces . Their duties are delegated to them by the central government and they are ruled by a municipal council that is elected every four years. Municipal mergers have reduced the total number of municipalities by two-thirds since the first official boundaries were created in the mid 19th century. Municipalities themselves are informally subdivided into districts and neighbourhoods for administrative and statistical purposes. These municipalities come in

2376-421: The Netherlands only came into existence in 1839, after the finalization of the separation of Belgium from the Netherlands which had begun in 1830. The two Limburgs had been brought together under French revolutionary administration some decades earlier, but they and the surrounding region shared much of their history. For long periods of history however, the region was not united under the same rule. For centuries,

2448-597: The PVV their number one status. Since the 2015 elections the CDA (11 seats) has again been the largest party, followed by the PVV (9 seats) and the Socialist Party (SP) (8 seats). The province's daily affairs are taken care of by the Provincial-Executive ( Gedeputeerde Staten ), which are also headed by the King's Commissioner; its members ( gedeputeerden ) can be compared with ministers. Results of

2520-658: The Rhine, such as the Sigambri to come and plunder. This back-fired when Eburones pointed out to the Sigambri that the Romans had all the booty at Aduatuca, and were the more attractive target. The Tungri , not mentioned by Caesar, came to dominate this area in the Roman era, and are the reason for the name of the modern name Tongeren. Tacitus says that Tungri was a new name for the original tribes who had previously been called

2592-580: The Romans upon this route. The area became strongly Romanized. Bishop Servatius introduced Christianity in Roman Maastricht, where he died in 384. Maastricht appears to have taken over from Tongeren for some time as regional capital for the Romanized and Christian population, before the bishopric was re-established in Liège , 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Maastricht. As Roman authority in

2664-538: The Treaty of Meerssen, effective Frankish power in the area of the current Netherlands more or less collapsed. For two or more years a large Viking army, operating from a place on or near the Meuse called Ascloa (or Hasloa or Haslon), wrought havoc in the neighbourhood. The damage was such that the emperor, Charles the Fat was forced to assemble a large multinational army, that in 882 unsuccessfully besieged this island . In

2736-462: The area weakened, Franks took over from the Romans, but the area came to flourish under their rule, with Cologne continuing to be the most important local capital. The Maas valley, especially the middle and southern part of the current province, formed an important part of the heartland of Merovingian Austrasia . With the rise of the Carolingian dynasty, who were themselves from this region,

2808-523: The areas around it. Before the Roman conquests, this area was inhabited by the group of Belgic tribes known as the Germani cisrhenani . (Despite being known as the Germani , whether they spoke a Germanic language is debated, and the names of their tribes and their leaders were Celtic .) Specifically the Eburones were the largest of these tribes and the one living around Tongeren. Caesar referred to

2880-750: The border between the Western- and Eastern Frankish kingdoms, placing most of the current Dutch province of Limburg on the western boundary of the Eastern Frankish kingdom, with Belgian Limburg in the Western Kingdom. In the Treaty of Ribemont of 888, the Eastern Kingdom was granted control of the whole of Lotharingia, including all of the modern Netherlands and Luxembourg, and most of modern Belgium. The region of Thorn, Netherlands

2952-517: The campaign of Caesar, led by the Eburones. They destroyed a legion that had demanded the right to winter among them in 54 BC. Caesar reported that he sold the Aduatuci into slavery, and annihilated the name of the Eburones, many of whom however he reported having fled successfully, including Ambiorix the leader of the revolt. Instead of risking Roman lives to pursue them he invited tribes from over

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3024-637: The capital of the Frankish empire . After the death of Charlemagne, the Frankish dominions were again split between kings. While the Austrasian lands remained a separate "Middle Kingdom", sometimes now referred to as Lotharingia , in the treaties of Verdun (843), and Prüm (855), in the 870 Treaty of Meerssen , signed in South Limburg itself, Lotharingia was divided. The river Meuse became

3096-407: The church equivalent to the Civitas Tungrorum. This was the resting place of Saint Lambert of Maastricht , one of the last missionaries in the area, who died about 700 AD. Aduatuca Tungrorum may have been destroyed by the Huns in 451 AD. Tongeren therefore lost some importance during this period. Waves of Germanic settlers and invaders changed the area significantly. The Merovingian period between

3168-535: The construction industry. In the north of the province, further away from the riverbed, the soil primarily consists of sand and peat. Limburg makes up one region of the International Organization for Standardization world region code system, having the code ISO 3166-2:NL -LI. The province of Limburg has 31 municipalities. From North to South: Gennep , Venray , Venlo , Weert , Roermond , Thorn , Sittard , Geleen , Heerlen , Valkenburg , Kerkrade , Maastricht , Vaals . The Gross domestic product (GDP) of

3240-672: The districts are called Dutch : stadsdelen , as well as Rotterdam , where the districts are called Dutch : deelgemeenten , consist of such formal subdivisions. The Hague , Almere , Breda , Eindhoven , Enschede , Groningen , Nijmegen , Tilburg and Utrecht have instituted Dutch : stadsdelen as well, although they do not have the same legal submunicipal status. For administrative use by municipalities and data collection by Statistics Netherlands all municipalities are subdivided into districts ( Dutch : wijken ), which in turn are subdivided into neighbourhoods ( Dutch : buurten ). These subdivisions have, in contrast to

3312-412: The elections for the States-Provincial : The Provincial-Executive 2023–2027 consists of the following parties: BBB, CDA, VVD, PvdA and SP. Limburg is a salient of the Netherlands into Belgium. Compared to the rest of the Netherlands the southern part of Limburg is less flat, slightly undulated. The highest point in the continental Netherlands is the Vaalserberg (meaning 'mountain' of Vaals) with

3384-434: The fifth and the eighth century is not well documented. The building of a new church and the foundation of a chapter of canons took place in Carolingian times, at the very place where the old bishops’ houses stood, and where the basilica still stands today. The construction of the current basilica started at the beginning of the thirteenth century in the prevalent Gothic style of that period. Other buildings were added to

3456-400: The first century. It suffered from a destructive fire during the Batavian siege in 70 AD, which was part of the Batavian revolt . In the second century, it erected a defensive wall, portions of which can still be seen today. Typical Roman buildings were built in town, while villas and mound graves ( tumuli ) dotted the surrounding area. In 358 the future emperor Julian met, in Tongeren,

3528-408: The fort of the Eburones as Aduatuca , and this has led to a widely accepted proposal that this can be equated to Tongeren. There are counter arguments that the word " Aduatuca " was probably a general word for a fort in this region, meaning that there might have been more places with the same name, and that Tongeren shows no signs of pre-Roman occupation, nor the hilly terrain described by Caesar. There

3600-427: The meantime, the Franks to the north and east were pagan and so many areas had to be reconverted over the course of the following centuries, with several missionaries becoming martyrs. The seat of the Tungrian bishopric however eventually moved to nearby Maastricht , after Saint Servatius was buried near the Roman towns there. Much later, Liège became the seat of what would become the Roman Catholic Diocese of Liège ,

3672-404: The medieval name to be lost, insisted that it be changed to " Province of Limburg ". As such, the name of the new province was derived from the old Duchy of Limburg that had existed until 1795 on the east bank of the Meuse river. When the Catholic and French -speaking Belgians split away from the mainly Calvinist northern Netherlands in the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the Province of Limburg

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3744-466: The municipal boundaries were basically redrawn in these regions. In the 19th and large parts of the 20th century, municipal mergers were forced by the central government. This policy changed in the end of the 20th century; local support for the merger is now a large part of the decision-making process. The larger, merged municipalities are intended to handle an increasing workload because more public services are delegated from higher levels of government to

3816-439: The municipalities. Another reason for municipal mergers is the assumption that larger municipalities are more efficient in performing their tasks than smaller ones. Municipalities have the right to decentralise themselves and form submunicipalities as an additional level of government. This right and the submunicipalities will cease to exist in the near future to reduce the number of levels of government. Only Amsterdam , where

3888-410: The names of the départements , was based on natural features such as rivers, in this case Meuse-Inférieure or Neder-Maas ("Lower Meuse"). After the defeat of Napoleon the newly created United Kingdom of the Netherlands desired a new name for this province. It was decided that the historic connection to the duchy of Limburg was to be restored, albeit only in name. The current province Limburg of

3960-406: The neighbouring dialects of southeast Brabant , which means that the tone is more Brabantic than in the rest of Limburg. The provincial council ( States-Provincial - Provinciale Staten ) has 47 seats, and is headed by a King's Commissioner ( Commissaris van de Koning ) who unofficially is called the Governor . While the provincial council is elected by the inhabitants, the King's Commissioner

4032-495: The oil, gas & petrochemicals, power, infrastructure and civil engineering sectors. Stamicarbon is based in Sittard-Geleen. VDL Nedcar in Born ( Sittard-Geleen ) is the only large-scale car manufacturer in the Netherlands, currently manufacturing MINIs and BMW X1s . Other industries include rockwool in Roermond, Océ copiers and printers manufacturers in Venlo and a paper factory in Maastricht. There are four large beer breweries in Limburg. Municipalities of

4104-454: The pain by moving several government offices (including Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP and CBS Statistics Netherlands ) to Heerlen. The state-owned corporation that once mined in Limburg, DSM , is now a major chemical company, still operating in Limburg. In 2002 DSM sold its petrochemical division (naphtha crackers and polyolefin plants) to SABIC of Saudi Arabia. In 2010, the agro and melamine business groups were sold to OCI Nitrogen . SABIC

4176-508: The province was €44.5 billion in 2018, accounting for 5.7% of the Netherlands economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €34,700 or 115% of the EU27 average in the same year. In the past peat and coal were mined in Limburg. In 1965–75 the coal mines were finally closed. As a result, 60,000 people lost their jobs in the two coal mining areas, Heerlen-Kerkrade-Brunssum and Sittard-Geleen. A difficult period of economic readjustment started. The Dutch government partly eased

4248-477: The religious core of the city, including new commercial areas, hospitals and artisans quarters. The thirteenth century also saw the building of the medieval defensive wall, several new churches and cloisters, and the beguinage. The city became one of the “ bonnes villes ” ("good cities") of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège . In 1677, the city was burned almost entirely by Louis XIV ’s troops, a catastrophe from which Tongeren never completely recovered. The rebirth of

4320-462: The river running through it, " Meuse-Inférieure ", meaning simply "lower Maas". Following the Napoleonic Era , the great powers (the United Kingdom , Prussia , the Austrian Empire , the Russian Empire and France ) left the region to the new United Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Congress of Vienna in 1815. A new province was formed which was to receive the name "Maastricht" after its capital. The first king, William I , who did not want

4392-407: The same as regular municipalities and are grouped together as the Caribbean Netherlands and are not part of a province. The municipalities are governed by both a board of mayor and aldermen and a municipal council. The municipal council , which is titled island council in the special municipalities, is elected every four years. The number of members in the council ranges from nine members for

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4464-414: The smallest municipalities to forty-five members for the largest. It is the highest administrative body in the municipality and controls public policy. The executive power lies with the executive board , which consists of a mayor , titled lieutenant governor in the special municipalities, and multiple aldermen, titled island deputies in the special municipalities. The mayor is appointed for six years at

4536-400: The south of Limburg, which corresponds to roughly one-third of the province's area proper. In South Limburg , most people live in the urban agglomerations of Maastricht, Parkstad and Sittard-Geleen. Limburg's name derives from the Belgian fortified town of the same name, Limbourg-sur-Vesdre , now in the nearby Liège Province , immediately south of Limburg. The name of Limbourg-sur-Vesdre

4608-407: The strategic location of the current province, stretching along the Maas river route, made it a much-coveted region among Europe's major powers. Romans , Carolingians , Habsburg Spaniards , Prussians , Habsburg Austrians and France have all ruled parts of Limburg. The first inhabitants of whom traces have been found were Neanderthals who camped in South Limburg. In Neolithic times, flint

4680-425: The submission of them and their children". They became increasingly important after this time. Zosimus reports that Julian used them as part of his forces in fights against other Germanic tribes. Already in the fourth century, just as the Salian Franks were settling to the north, the city became the center of a Christian diocese under the influence of Saint Servatius , bishop of Tongeren , who died in 384 AD. In

4752-405: The submunicipalities, no formal status. Tongeren Tongeren ( Dutch: [ˈtɔŋərə(n)] ; French : Tongres [tɔ̃ɡʁ] ; German : Tongern [ˈtɔŋɐn] ; Limburgish : Tóngere [ˈtʊŋəʀə] ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg , in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren

4824-413: Was also a distinct tribe in the area known as the Aduatuci . On the other hand, it has the same name and function as a local capital, and is in generally the right area. If it is not Tongeren itself, the Aduatuca of the Eburones might be the ancient fortification of Caestert in nearby Riemst . During Julius Caesar ’s campaigns in this part of Gaul in the first century BC, the Belgae revolted against

4896-434: 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

4968-540: Was born as a son of the count of Gennep. He was the founder of the order of the Premonstratensians . South Limburg in the early Middle Ages was mainly made up of the lordships of Valkenburg  [ de ] , Dalhem , and Herzogenrath . All of these lands were, however, united with the Duchy of Limburg, under the rule of the Duchy of Brabant , when they were known collectively as the Lands of Overmaas  [ nl ; de ] . The Duchy of Limburg and its dependencies first came under Brabantian control in 1288, as

5040-419: Was drained and about 975 a swamp nearby the Roman road between Maastricht and Nijmegen . Bishop Ansfried of Utrecht founded a Benedictine nunnery. This developed from the 12th century into a secular Stift or convent . The principal of the Stift was the abbess . She was assisted by a chapter of at most twenty ladies of the highest nobility . During the period of West Frankish control under

5112-496: Was important to the region because it had been the seat of the medieval Duchy of Limburg . There are several proposals concerning the etymology of Limbourg. The second part, "bourg" or "burg" is common in placenames, and refers to a fortified town. The first part is often suggested to refer to lime or linden trees (species of Tilia ). The historian Jean-Louis Kupper has proposed that its founder Frederick, Duke of Lower Lorraine named it after Limburg Abbey in Germany. He favours

5184-551: Was mined in underground mines. Julius Caesar conquered the area in 53 BC, and wrote that he had extinguished the name of the Eburones , the inhabitants of most of the area of current Limburg, as a punishment for their revolt under Ambiorix . The north–south route along the Maas was crossed by the Via Belgica , a road crossing South Limburg and connecting the two local capitals of Tongeren and Cologne . Mosa Trajectum (Maastricht) and Coriovallum (Heerlen) were founded by

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