LIMBURG

Limburg: translation

One of the 12 provinces of the Netherlands (population 1,136,000). The region of Limburg had already been inhabited in prehistoric times 6,000 years ago. During the Middle Ages, the area was divided among the Duke of Limburg, the Count (Duke) of Gelderland, and the bishop of Liege. In the Revoltagainst Spain, the Dutch Republic conquered parts of this territory, which, since the in dependence of Belgium in 1839, has been divided into a Dutch and a Belgian province of Limburg. The predominantly Roman Catholic province stretches along the Meuse River with its several fortified cities, such as Maastricht (now the capital) and Venlo. Many old castles, churches, and monasteries have survived. In the south, the St. Pietersberg, a hill of marl, dominates the countryside. During the 1960s, the mining of coal was stopped and replaced by other kinds of employment, such as DSM (chemical industry), car production (now NedCar, with Volvo) in Born, and the Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds (Dutch State Employees’ Pension Scheme) in Heerlen. The local Limburg vernacular is still very vivid.