Heerlen ( ) (Limburgish: Heële) is a city and a municipality in
the southeastern Netherlands
The municipality is the second largest in the
province of Limburg
. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg
, (formerly known as "Oostelijke Mijnstreek"), an
agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.
After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval
period, Heerlen became a centre for the coal mining industry in the
Netherlands in the late 19th century. In the 20th century,
architect
Frits Peutz played a major
role in shaping the city as we know it today.
His most famous
design, and a distinctive building in the city centre, is the
so-called Glaspaleis
(Glass Palace), listed as one of the
world's thousand most architecturally important buildings of the
20th century.
History
In 1997, a habitation from the
Michelsberg culture (4400 - 3500 BC) was
excavated at the
Schelsberg, near
Heerlen. Archeological finds from this period are rare in the
Netherlands. The site is unique in the Netherlands, as it is the
first excavated site with ditches and earth walls
(earthworks).
Even with these proofs of early habitation, the history of Heerlen
proper starts with the arrival of the Romans.
They founded a
military settlement, named Coriovallum on the crossroad of
two main roads: Boulogne sur
Mer
- Cologne and Xanten
- Aachen
- Trier
. In
Heerlen and its surroundings a lot of evidence of Roman life has
been excavated, especially Roman villas (country estates). The most
notable archeological excavation from Roman times is the
Thermae complex in the centre of Heerlen, a
Roman bathhouse, discovered in 1940. In the
Netherlands only a few of these have been found. It is a clear
indication that Coriovallum/Heerlen was of some importance. A
museum has been built over the Thermae and opened in 1977. The
Thermenmuseum also houses other Roman finds from the area.

Monument erected on the place of the
Roman crossroad ( )
Like many other Roman settlements in the Netherlands, Coriovallum
was probably abandoned after the 3rd/4th century Roman retreat.
Very little is known about Heerlen's history until the 10th
century, when agricultural development continues once again in
these parts of Europe. Farmhouses and mills are built across the
valleys of Caumerbeek, Schandelerbeek and Geleenbeek and medieval
Heerlen slowly takes shape.
The oldest mention of Heerlen (as 'Herle') is in an official
document dated 1065.
Udo, bishop of
Toul, documents some gifts. One of them is the allodium
Heerlen, in the bishopry of Liege. Another allodium consists of a
few chapels, which belong to the mother church in Voerendaal, close
to Heerlen. Shortly after this the allodium of Heerlen appears to
be owned by the counts of Ahr-Hochstaden.
Theoderich
van Are (Udo van Toul's cousin) separated Heerlen from Voerendaal
and chose Saint Pancratius as the patron saint of
the church. The counts of Are where probably responsible for
the construction of the Schelmentoren and the St-Pancratius church
and also may have ordered the construction of a moated castle.
Through these fortifications Heerlen acquired some rights and
freedoms, which gave it an elevated status over the surrounding
countryside. Voerendaal, Hoensbroek, Schaesberg en Nieuwenhagen now
fell under the legislation of the so-called "Land van Herle".
In 1244
Heerlen came under the authority of the dukes of Brabant, but in 1388, along with Hoensbroek
, it was given a separate status. During the
Eighty Years' War (1568–1648),
Heerlen was disputed by the kingdom of Spain and the Dutch
Protestant rebels and swopped sides several times. At the 1661
Partage Treaty, Heerlen became part of "Staat-Limburg", ruled by
the States-General of the newly-founded Dutch Republic.
Being in
the border region, close to the Spanish territories
, it remained quite isolated until 1793, when the
French
conquered Heerlen. After the defeat of
Napoleon in 1814 it became part of the Netherlands province of
Limburg (present-day Dutch and Belgian Limburg).
In 1830, like most of
Limburg, Heerlen sided with Belgium
in the
Belgian Revolution. In
1839 however, as a result of an agreement between the main European
powers (the London Conference), it became part of the Netherlands
again.
In the 19th century, Heerlen, like most of Limburg municipalities
(Maastricht was an exception), did not partake in the Industrial
Revolution and it remained largely agrarian until coalmining began
in the late 19th/early 20th century. In March 1874,
coal had been found at the Valkenburgerweg. However,
setting up a mine is a risky long-term investment and only very few
private enterprises took up the challenge and bought a concession.
In 1896 Heerlen got its first railway connection to allow the
transportation of coal from these first coal mines. Development was
still rather slow: In 1812 Heerlen had a population of 3497, in
1900 this was still only 6646. In 1901, the national government
stepped in and bought all remaining unsold concessions and set up
the
State Mines. In a short period of
time several large state-operated coalmines began production. The
population rose sharply from 6646 in 1900 to 12,098 in 1910 to
32,263 in 1930. During these early expansion years many old
buildings in the centre of Heerlen were demolished. The coalmines
remained central to the development of Heerlen into a modern city
until the early 1960s, the period during which mayor Van Grunsven
was mayor of Heerlen.
The golden years of coalmining ended in the
late 1950s, after which production gradually diminished due to
competition from cheaper Polish and American coal and the discovery
of natural gas in the province of Groningen
. In the period 1965–1975 the coalmines were
closed altogether. In the area around Heerlen-Kerkrade-Brunssum and
Sittard-Geleen 60,000 people lost their jobs. A difficult period of
economic re-adjustment started. The Dutch government tried to ease
the pain by moving several governmental offices (ABP, CBS) to
Heerlen but even today the city has not fully recovered from the
loss of tens of thousands of jobs.
In the cityshape of modern-day Heerlen very little reminds us of
the once omni-present mining industry. Most of the typical mounts
of mining debris that surrounded the coal mines, have been removed
Or transformed in to lushes green hills during an operation called
van zwart naar groen (Dutch for
from black
to green). Even the tallest mine chimney, 'Lange Jan'
('Long John'), once a major landmark, was demolished. On of the few
remaining mining buildings (shaft 2 of the Oranje Nassau I) now
houses the Dutch Mine Museum.
Heerlen
is part of the agglomeration Parkstad
Limburg
, formerly known as Oostelijke Mijnstreek.
Education
Among the
educational institutes in Heerlen is Hogeschool Zuyd
, which is a University of Applied
Sciences with branches in Heerlen, Sittard
and Maastricht
. Also based in Heerlen is the administrative
office of the Open University of the
Netherlands
(Open Universiteit
or OU in Dutch), which is a university for distance learning with tens of thousands
of students throughout the Netherlands. Heerlen was also the
location of the now defunct
University of Theology and
Pastorate (
Universiteit van
Theologie en Pastoraat or
UTP in Dutch),
which had to close down due to lack of students. Jokingly it was
said that Heerlen was the location of the biggest (OU) and the
smallest (UTP) university of the Netherlands.
Health Care
Health
care in Heerlen (and the rest of the Parkstad Limburg
) is provided by Stichting
Gezondheidszorg Oostelijk Zuid-Limburg
(G.O.Z.L.). Atrium Medisch Centrum Parkstad
(Atrium Medical Center Parkstad), is the name of the different
hospitals in the Parkstad, and is part of G.O.Z.L. Atrium Medisch
Centrum Parkstad location Heerlen was previously known as
de Wever ziekenhuis named after
Frans de Wever, who in 1904,
together with
mgr. Joseph Savelberg, founded the
first hospital in Heerlen.
Architecture
The city's best known architect is without doubt
Frits Peutz. His legacy consist of at least 10
landmark buildings in Heerlen.
In 1935 Heerlen's most famous landmark
building, the Glaspaleis
, was built next to the medieval church in the
centre of the then modest town. It was commissioned by the
merchant Peter
Schunck and it was quite an
extraordinary step for this conservative businessman to ask the
young Heerlen-based architect Peutz to design the new Schunck
department store. It is one of the most outstanding examples of
early
Modernism in The Netherlands but it
was only recognized as such at a fairly late stage (after it had
been badly maimed). In the 1990s (only then!) it was added to a
prestigious list of the world's 1000 most influentious modern
buildings (only 13 buildings in the Netherlands are on that list).
It encouraged the city administrators to buy the dilapidated
building and make plans for its renovation. The renovation has now
been completed and it now houses several of the city's cultural
institutions, including a museum of modern art. The renovated
Glaspaleis has become a symbol of the revived Heerlen after the
closing of the coalmines.
Although
many interesting buildings were demolished around 1900, some older
buildings still exist in the centre of Heerlen, for instance a
Romanesque style 12th century
church (Pancratiuskerk
), and a former prison tower from around the same
period (Schelmentoren
).
Other buildings worth mentioning are a
Neoclassical chapel (
Grafkapel de Loë built in 1848, the
only remaining Neoclassical building in Heerlen), and a former
mansion annex pharmacy, left in almost the same state as after its
1801–1828 expansion (
Huis de
Luijff).
In other
parts of Heerlen, especially near the numerous small rivers around
Heerlen, many more older buildings can be found, noticeably a
couple of watermills (like the Weltermolen
(14th century), Eikendermolen (15th century), Oliemolen
(16th century), and Schandelermolen (17th century)), some
castles (for instance Kasteel Hoensbroek oldest part 1380,
Kasteel Terworm 15th century) and
old farms (Geleenhof (dating back to Roman
days), Benzeraderhof (13th century,
Hoeve Den Driesch (14th century),
Overste Douvenrade (largely
destroyed and rebuilt in 1779) and Hoeve de
Bek (1796)).
Architects with significant work
Here follows a list of architects who have built important
landmarks in Heerlen, and those landmarks.
- A van Beers: Huize Op de Berg (1897)
- Johan Kayser,
(1842, Harlingen
– 1917): Chapel Savelberg Convent (1878-1879,
style: Neogothic)
- Jan
Stuyt
(1868–1934)): Ambachtsschool
(1913, style: Hollands Classicisme)
- J. Pauw: Former
Liberary (1917, style: Amsterdam School)
- Dirk Roosenburg (1887–1962):
Former office Oranje Nassau mine (1928, style: International style)
- Dirk Brouwer (November 3, 1899 - 1941): Former HEMA building (1939, style: International
style)
- Frits Peutz
(April 7, 1896 - October 24, 1974): Glaspaleis
(1933, style: International style), Monseigneur Laurentius Schrijnen
Retratiehuis
(1932), townhall (1940), municipal
theatre
- Gerrit
Rietveld, (Utrecht
June 24, 1888- Utrecht June 26, 1964): house on
Zandweg (1961–1964)
- Jo Coenen (born 1949 in
Heerlen-Hoensbroek): Library and entrance Stadsgalerij (1983,
1989)
Well known Heerlenaren
- See also People
from Heerlen
A chronological list of notable Heerlenaren (inhabitants of
Heerlen)
- Lucius
Ferenius (around 125 (in, what is now, Dilzen, Belgium
) – around 150), Potter
- M. Sattonius Iucundus, third century,
restores the Thermae
- Count
Theoderich van Are (1087–1126),
‘owner’ of Heerlen, probably builder of the Schelmentoren
(prison tower)
- Anna Sophia van
Schönborn (around 1696 - November 5, 1760),
Countess of Hoensbroek
- Baron
Jacob Derk Carel van
Heeckeren (October 31, 1730, Zutphen
- July 11, 1795, Zutphen), last shout of Heerlen
- Jan Gerard Kemmerling
(February 4, 1776 - January 15, 1818), Mayor of Heerlen (1805 - 1818?)
- Jan
Michiel Dautzenberg (December 6, 1808, [Heerlen - February 4,
1869, Elsene
), is the
author of a volume of Volksliederen.
- Egidius Slanghen (August 23,
1820 - October 12, 1882)
- Joseph Savelberg (February 10,
1827, Heerlen – February 11, 1907), Heerlen, Priest and congregation founder, together with
Frans de Wever founded the first Hospital
- Jakob Jongeneel (February 21,
1831 - March 20, 1887)
- Arnold Schunck (February 11,
1842, Kettenis – October 15, 1905,
Heerlen), Founder of the fashion house
and department store Firma Schunck
- Henri Sarolea
(January 18, 1844, Maastricht
- September 12, 1900, Heerlen), responsible for the
first railroadtrack in Heerlen (between Herzogenrath
, Heerlen, and Sittard
)
- M.J. de Hesselle (1855–1935),
Mayor of Heerlen (1894–1913) and
Pharmacist
- Frans de Wever, 1869? - ??,
General Practitioner, founder
of the first hospital (together with Joseph Savelberg)
- Peter Schunck
(October 31, 1873, Hauset – July 13, 1960,
Heerlen), builder of the Glaspaleis

- Marcel van Grunsven
(December 4, 1896 - July 24, 1969) Mayor of Heerlen (1926–1961)
- Jan Maenen
- Thomas
Bernhard, February 9, 1931, Heerlen - February 12, 1989,
Ohlsdorf
was an Austrian
playwright and novelist, born in
Heerlen
- Klaas
de Vries, April 28, 1943, Hoensbroek
, is a member of the lower house of the Dutch
parliament for the PvdA
- Margriet Ehlen (1943), composer
and poet
- Jo Ritzen, October
3, 1945, Heerlen, former Minister of
Education, Chairman of Universiteit Maastricht

- Loek Hermans,
April 23, 1951, Heerlen, former Minister of
Education, former major of
Zwolle Chairman of the Board of Directors to the Stichting Katholieke
Universiteit (Board of Directors to both the Radboud
Universiteit Nijmegen
and the UMC St Radboud
)
- Wiel Arets (1955), Architect
- Suzan Erens,11 November 1976,
vocalist with the Johan Strauss Orchestra of Andre Rieu
Mines
List of mines that where located in, what is now, Heerlen
Transportation
Heerlen has two stations
From Heerlen you can travel to Eindhoven, Utrecht, Amsterdam,
Maastricht, Kerkrade and into Germany.
Miscellaneous
- The
Glaspaleis
is on list of 1000 most important buildings of
the 20th century created by the International Union of
Architects
- Heerlen houses the biggest Furniture strip of Europe, with
floorspace after the opening of the biggest ( ) Ikea of the Benelux on the 27th
of August 2008.
- On October 1, 2008, the World’s first minewater power station was opened in Heerlen. It
will be used to heat and cool 200 homes, along with shops, a
supermarket, a library and large office buildings
References
- Heerlen
- Groei van dorp naar stad
- Beschrijving route
- Dorpsfiguren en notabelen
- http://www.eventjesuit.nl/smartsite.dws?id=3219
- L1 - nieuws en sport uit Limburg
Pictures of Heerlen
- See also Heerlen photo
gallery and Heerlen at Wikimedia commons
Image:Pancratiuskerk3.JPGImage:Pancratiuskerk2.JPGImage:Ambachtsschool1.JPGImage:Weltermolen1.JPGImage:Grafkapel
Loe.JPGImage:Statue Savelberg.JPGImage:Grunsven Grave.JPG
See also
External links