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50-640: Through the centuries, the town has filled the role of commercial centre and a principal town in the duchy of Guelders . Since 1559, it has served as the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Roermond . The skyline of the town is dominated by the towers of its two churches, St. Christopher's Cathedral and Roermond Minster ("Munsterkerk" in Dutch). In addition to the churches, the town centre has many significant buildings and monuments. Celtic inhabitants of this region used to live on both sides of

100-628: A Liberation Day festival on 5 May and the dance festival Solar Weekend . Roermond has had its own anthem since 1912. The text was written by A. F. van Beurden, the music is by H. Tijssen, who also composed the Limburg Anthem ( Waar in 't bronsgroen eikenhout ). In everyday life in Limburg around 1900, the Dutch language was of less importance. Everything was done in Limburgs . Newspapers in

150-628: A double attack . IRA members opened fire on a car in Roermond with Royal Air Force airmen, killing Ian Shinner. Half an hour later, a second attack elsewhere, in Nieuw-Bergen , killed two British airmen and injured another. In a separate attack two years later two Australian nationals were killed . The two men were lawyers on holiday, whom the IRA shot believing they were off-duty British Army soldiers. Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke denounced

200-558: A railway station serving commuter trains on the line Roermond-Venlo twice hourly. For regional transport, there is a bus station with municipal and regional lines to nearby villages and towns. There used to be a bus service to Heinsberg in Germany, which was terminated in December 2008. There are no long-distance coach services. Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( Dutch : Gelre , French : Gueldre , German : Geldern )

250-710: Is Count Anthony of Guelders, elder son of Duke Arnold and brother to Adolf "since then happily vanished". Sabatini weaves the historical characters and events of the period through the story. The folk/metalband Heidevolk , based in Gelderland, composed and performs a range of songs about Gelre/Guelders, among them a contemporary anthem " Het Gelders Volklied ". Circles est. 1500: Bavarian , Swabian , Upper Rhenish , Lower Rhenish–Westphalian , Franconian , (Lower) Saxon Meuse-Inf%C3%A9rieure Meuse-Inférieure ( French: [møz ɛ̃feʁjœʁ] ; Dutch : Beneden-Maas ; German : Unteren-Maas ; "Lower Meuse")

300-611: Is a historical duchy , previously county , of the Holy Roman Empire , located in the Low Countries . The duchy was named after the town of Geldern ( Gelder ) in present-day Germany . Though the present province of Gelderland (English also Guelders ) in the Netherlands occupies most of the area, the former duchy also comprised parts of the present Dutch province of Limburg as well as those territories in

350-530: Is home to a McArthurGlen Designer Outlet, which has become one of the largest and most successful designer outlets in Europe with an average of almost six million customers per year, making it one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Netherlands. In 2017 it reached 200 shops following its latest expansion. The Designer Outlet attracts many shoppers from France, Germany, Belgium and China. In 2007, Roermond

400-526: Is situated in the middle of the province of Limburg , which is bordered by the river Maas to the west and Germany to the east. The community of Roermond consists of the following population centres: Roermond is encircled by a green belt, which offers many opportunities for hiking and cycling. To the east, nature reserves, such as the Meinweg National Park , the valley of the Leu ( Leudal ), and

450-541: Is the German autobahn A52. The last 6 km (4 mi) stretch from Düsseldorf to the German-Dutch border was recently completed. The highway leads from Roermond straight to Düsseldorf. As of 2010, the city itself had a fairly high unemployment rate of 10.7% and the average income was lower than the national average, despite an above-average economy in the region and an influx of new residents. Since 2001, Roermond

500-590: The A73 ( Maastricht - Nijmegen ) passes east of the city, partly through tunnels. Eastwards the German A52 leads to Düsseldorf . Westbound the provincial road N280 leads towards Weert and connects to the A2 towards Eindhoven . Roermond has a train station with quarter-hourly fast trains across the country to: In addition, there are commuter trains with half-hourly service to: The municipality of Swalmen also has

550-691: The Battle of Baesweiler ) and Reginald III (on 4 December), the ensuing Guelders War of Succession (1371 to 1379) saw William I of Jülich emerge victorious. William was confirmed in the inheritance of Guelders in 1379, and from 1393 onwards held both duchies in personal union (in Guelders as William I, and in Jülich as William III). In 1423 Guelders passed to the House of Egmond , which gained recognition of its title from Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg , but

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600-757: The German Confederation . During World War II , the Germans occupied Roermond from 1940 to 1945. On 1 March 1945 the town was liberated by the Recce Troop of the 35th US Infantry Division during Operation Grenade . By the time of liberation, 90% of all buildings were either damaged or destroyed. Restoration returned the old town centre to its full glory. On 1 May 1988 the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) killed three British airmen and injured three others in

650-763: The Guelders Wars and expanded his realm further north, to incorporate what is now the Province of Overijssel . He was not simply a man of war, but also a skilled diplomat, and was therefore able to keep his independence. He bequeathed the duchy to Duke William the Rich of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (also known as Wilhelm of Cleves). Following in the footsteps of Charles of Egmond, Duke William formed an alliance with France, an alliance dubiously cemented via his political marriage to French King Francis I 's niece Jeanne d'Albret (who reportedly had to be whipped into submission to

700-656: The Inquisition , people were encouraged to report suspects of witchcraft and heresy. In 1613, 64 witches were burnt on Galgeberg hill near the Kapel in 't Zand  [ nl ] in Roermond, the largest witch trial in the Netherlands ever. In 1632 the Dutch Stadhouder Frederik Hendrik conquered Roermond along with Venlo and Maastricht during his famous "March along the Meuse". Attempts in

750-525: The Roer , Roermond often has to defend itself against floods. The worst floods were in 1993 and 1995. Though Roermond grew and expanded steadily over the years, it was not until the start of the 21st century that Roermond saw another economic boost. This recent growth was mainly caused by the construction of the highway A73 circling Roermond on the east side. The highway was planned to open in January 2007 with

800-956: The Spanish Crown . When the Netherlands revolted against King Philip II of Spain in the Dutch Revolt , the three northern quarters of Gelderland joined the Union of Utrecht and became part of the United Provinces upon the 1581 Act of Abjuration , while only the Upper Quarter remained a part of the Spanish Netherlands . At the Treaty of Utrecht , ending the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713,

850-667: The Spanish Upper Quarter was again divided between Prussian Guelders ( Geldern , Viersen , Horst , Venray ), the United Provinces ( Venlo , Montfort , Echt ), Austria (this part continued as the duchy: Roermond , Niederkrüchten , Weert ), and the Duchy of Jülich ( Erkelenz ). In 1795 Guelders was finally conquered and incorporated by the French First Republic , and partitioned between

900-513: The Swalm and Roer rivers provide woodlands, heath and meadows. The Meinweg also contains a small amount of wildlife, including a small group of vipers, the only venomous snake to live in the Netherlands. To the west, the river Meuse and its lake area, known as " Maasplassen ", offer opportunities for water recreation. As a town near to and surrounded by water and close to two rivers, the Meuse and

950-600: The United Kingdom of the Netherlands , as the Province of Limburg (with a part of the Roer département ). In subsequent events starting in 1830, a part of this Kingdom split out to become Belgium . By 1839 it was settled that the Hasselt canton of Limburg, plus significant parts of the other two, went into Belgium, while the rest remained in the Netherlands . Both provinces have kept the name Limburg. The Prefect

1000-601: The War of the Sixth Coalition , Roermond was liberated by the Russians. After the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 , Roermond became part of the new Kingdom of the Netherlands . The new province was to receive the name "Maastricht", after its capital. King William , 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

1050-485: The 19th century were sometimes written in German, and in some 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 Liège . Van Beurden's poem was used to force the people of Limburg into speaking Dutch. Proof of this is the very un-Limburg part in the anthem, the reference to the Dutch Royal family. In 1900

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1100-464: The 2.5 km (1.6 mi) long Roertunnel leading traffic underneath a part of the city and the shorter Swalmertunnel underneath Swalmen. However, due to delays the tunnels only opened with a single carriageway available and frequent closures. The tunnels grew infamous during the first weeks when numerous closures due to technical problems caused constant traffic jams. The tunnels are now fully operational. Another highway connection under construction

1150-779: The Bold and fought for the House of Habsburg in battles against the armies of Charles VIII of France , until being captured in the Battle of Béthune (1487) during the War of the Public Weal (also known as the Mad War ). In 1492, the citizens of Guelders, who had become disenchanted with the rule of Maximilian, ransomed Charles and recognized him as their Duke. Charles, now backed by France , fought Maximilian's grandson Charles of Habsburg (who became Holy Roman Emperor, as Charles V, in 1519) in

1200-527: The IRA explanation saying 'This sort of warped logic of war casualties adds insult to a mortal injury,' and a later Prime Minister John Howard refused to meet Gerry Adams from Sinn Féin on a visit to Australia in 2000. On 13 April 1992, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake occurred near the town of Roermond at a focal depth of about 17 km (11 mi). This earthquake was the strongest seismic event in Western Europe since 1756. Following this earthquake,

1250-522: The Veluwe and the city of Nijmegen were given as collateral to Guelders by their cash-strapped rulers. On separate occasions, in return for loans from the treasury of Guelders, the bishop of Utrecht granted the taxation and administration of the Veluwe, and William II – Count of both Holland and Zeeland , and who was elected anti-king of the Holy Roman Empire (1248–1256) – similarly granted

1300-782: The duchy; in 1543, by the terms of the Treaty of Venlo , Duke William conceded the Duchy of Guelders to the Emperor. Emperor Charles V united Guelders with the Seventeen Provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands by the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 , and Guelders thus lost its independence. Charles abdicated in 1556 and decreed that the territories of the Burgundian Circle should be held by

1350-512: The départements of Roer and Meuse-Inférieure . The coat of arms of the region changed over time. William Thatcher, the lead character in the 2001 film A Knight's Tale played by Heath Ledger , claimed to be Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein from Gelderland so as to appear to be of noble birth and thus qualify to participate in jousting. Set in the late 1460s, the main character in Rafael Sabatini's 1929 novel The Romantic Prince

1400-407: The four major cities of Guelders during his rebellion, was unwilling to strike a compromise with his father when this was demanded by Philip's successor, Duke Charles the Bold . Charles had Duke Adolf captured and imprisoned in 1471 and reinstated Arnold on the throne of the Duchy of Guelders. Charles then bought the reversion (i.e., the right of succession to the throne) from Duke Arnold, who, against

1450-635: The marriage, and later bodily carried to the altar by the Constable of France , Anne de Montmorency ). This alliance emboldened William to challenge Emperor Charles V's claim to Guelders, but the French, mightily engaged on multiple fronts as they were in the long struggle to against the Habsburg "encirclement" of France , proved less reliable than the Duke's ambitions required, and he was unable to hold on to

1500-731: The monastery of the Franciscan Friars Minor , the Minderbroederklooster, was in 1309. In 1361, the Chapter of the Holy Spirit moved from Sint Odiliënberg to Roermond. In 1376 Roermond Charterhouse was founded. Around 1350, Roermond became the capital of the "Overkwartier van Gelre" ( Upper Quarter of Gelre ). In 1388, during the Hundred Years' War , it was besieged by the French. A battle for

1550-654: The next few years to annex Antwerp and Brussels failed, however. The northern Dutch were disappointed by the lack of local support. The Counter-Reformation had firmly reattached the local population to Roman Catholicism, and they now distrusted the Calvinist Northerners even more than they loathed the Spanish occupiers. Between 1632 and 1637, Roermond was under the control of the Dutch Republic , and again from 1702 to 1716. Between 1716 and 1794, it

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1600-423: The old Duchy of Limburg 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. From then on, Dutch Limburg was, the new Duchy of Limburg , also part of

1650-490: The original Duchy lands were not part of this new entity. The Chef-lieu of the department was Maastricht . The department was subdivided into the following three arrondissements and cantons : After Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the department (excluding Niederkrüchten and Herzogenrath which were assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia and are located in the present-day state of North Rhine-Westphalia ) became part of

1700-538: The outer fortifications Buiten Op, destruction of these fortifications, and the old parish church followed. In 1441, Roermond became a member of the Hanseatic League , and by 1472 acquired the right to mint its own coins. Between 1543 and 1702 the area was part of the Spanish Netherlands , known in Spanish as Ruremunda . On 23 April 1568 the Battle of Rheindalen occurred near Roermond, which signalled

1750-434: The people in Limburg had to swear their allegiance to the Dutch royal family of the House of Orange-Nassau in a "aanhankelijkheidsverklaring aan het Oranjehuis" and had to start using Dutch instead of Limburgs. Roermond's old town centre is home to several historic monuments, including: Access roads to Roermond have been upgraded recently, providing direct access to the Dutch and German highway networks. From north to south

1800-489: The present-day German state of North Rhine-Westphalia that were acquired by Prussia in 1713, which included the duchy's capital Geldern . Four parts of the duchy had their own centres, as they were separated by rivers: spatially separated from the Lower Quarters (Gelderland): The county emerged about 1096, when the first documented reference to Gerard III of Wassenberg as "Count of Guelders" occurred. It

1850-579: The river Roer. Invading Romans built a bridge (now called the Steene Brök , or stone bridge) and founded the first town at Roermond, now a suburb called Voorstad Sint Jacob. Around 1180–1543, Roermond belonged to the Duchy of Guelders . In 1213 Roermond was destroyed by Otto IV of Brunswick , the Holy Roman Emperor and German King . By 1232 the town had been rebuilt and was given its own seal, reign, mint, and court. The first mention of

1900-572: The same rights over Nijmegen; as neither ruler proved able to repay their debts, these lands became integral parts of Guelders. In 1339 the Emperor Louis IV of Wittelsbach elevated Count Reginald II of Guelders (also styled Rainald), of the House of Wassenberg, to the rank of Duke . After the Wassenberg line became extinct in 1371 following the deaths of Reginald II's childless sons Edward II (on 24 August, from wounds suffered in

1950-536: The same year at the head of a Flemish army besieging Tournai , after the States of Guelders had recognized him once more as Duke. Subsequently, Guelders was ruled by Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , husband of Charles the Bold's daughter and heir, Mary . The last independent Duke of Guelders was Adolf's son Charles of Egmond (1467–1538, r. 1492–1538), who was raised at the Burgundian court of Charles

2000-401: The start of the Eighty Years' War . In 1572, Roermond was occupied by the Dutch William the Silent . On 23 July 1572, 13 Catholic clerics were murdered in the town of Roermond by militant Dutch Calvinists ( Martyrs of Roermond ). Roermond was recaptured by the Spanish duke Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo . Under Spanish rule, Roermond became a bastion of the Counter-Reformation . On behalf of

2050-410: The succession in the Duchy of Limburg , until it lost the 1288 Battle of Worringen against Berg and Brabant . Guelders was often at war with its neighbours, not only with Brabant, but also with the County of Holland and the Bishopric of Utrecht . However, its territory grew, not only because of its success in warfare, but also because it thrived in times of peace. For example, the larger part of

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2100-409: The water levels of numerous wells located in the Lower Rhine Embayment showed significant coseismic anomalies. The Roer Valley, which crosses three countries (Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany), is bounded by two north-northwest, south-southeast trending Quaternary normal fault systems. The eastern boundary is defined by the Peel boundary fault, along which the 1992 Roermond earthquake occurred, and

2150-529: The western boundary is defined by the Feldbiss fault zone, which is partly located in Belgium. Evidence of recent tectonic activity along the Feldbiss fault zone is visible on seismic profiles that show more than 600 m of offset in Neogene deposits. Although Ahorner demonstrated the existence of the Rhenish seismic zones and recommended a comprehensive analysis of Quaternary structures and background seismicity, coseismic movements were considered to be improbable and active faults remain largely unidentified. Roermond

2200-409: The will of the towns and the law of the land, pledged his duchy to Charles for 300,000 Rhenish florins. The bargain was completed in 1472–73, and upon Arnold's death in 1473, Duke Charles added Guelders to the "Low Countries" portion of his Valois Duchy of Burgundy . Upon Charles' defeat and death at the Battle of Nancy in January 1477, Duke Adolf was released from prison by the Flemish , but died

2250-459: Was a department of the French First Republic and French First Empire in present-day Belgium , Netherlands and Germany . It was named after the river Meuse . Its territory corresponded largely with the present-day provinces of Belgian and Dutch Limburg . It was created on 1 October 1795, when the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège were officially annexed by the French Republic . Before this annexation, its territory

2300-418: Was part of the Austrian Netherlands within the Habsburg monarchy . On 11 December 1792, during the French Revolutionary Wars , the French under General De Miranda conquered Roermond, but by 5 March 1793, the city was under Habsburg control again. The city was again occupied by the French on 5 April 1794 and officially became part of the French département Meuse-Inférieure from 1795 to 1814. In 1814, during

2350-400: Was part of the County of Loon , the Austrian Upper Guelders , the Staats-Oppergelre, the County of Horne , the Abbacy of Thorn , Maastricht and part of the Lands of Overmaas . The lands of the original medieval Duchy of Limburg were associated with the Overmaas lands , lying to their south. The two regions had long been governed together and referred to collectively with both names, but

2400-442: Was ranked as the third most criminal place in the Netherlands, outscoring Amsterdam . In 2007, Roermond managed to improve its reputation, dropping to 9th place (though this figure is combined with the district of Swalmen, which had its own score in 2006). Efforts are being put in place to limit petty crime (especially car break-ins and house burglaries). In 2013, Roermond was in 13th place. Roermond hosts several festivals, including

2450-402: Was then located on the territory of Lower Lorraine , in the area of Geldern and Roermond , with its main stronghold at Montfort (built 1260). Count Gerard's son Gerard II in 1127 acquired the County of Zutphen in northern Hamaland by marriage. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Guelders quickly expanded downstream along the sides of the Maas , Rhine , and IJssel rivers and even claimed

2500-436: Was unable to escape the political strife and internecine conflict that had so plagued the preceding House of Jülich-Hengebach, and more especially, the pressure brought to bear by the expansionist rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy . The first Egmond Duke, Arnold , suffered the rebellion of his son Adolf and was imprisoned by the latter in 1465. Adolf, who had enjoyed the support of Burgundian Duke Philip III ("the Good") and of

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