Heerlen (Limburgs: local Heële) is a city and municipality in the
southeast of the Dutch province of Limburg. On August 1, 2020,
Heerlen had 86,915 inhabitants (CBS). Heerlen is thus the largest
municipality in the Eastern Mining Region, and the fourth in
Limburg, after Maastricht, Venlo and Sittard-Geleen.
Heerlen's history goes back a long way. The Romans founded a
settlement called Coriovallum and built a thermal complex there that
is now considered the best preserved antique building in the
Netherlands. The place remained inhabited in the Middle Ages as
'Herle'. Impressive growth did not follow until the beginning of the
twentieth century, through the extraction of coal. Mining provided
prosperity and population growth. After the mines disappeared,
Heerlen struggled for a long time with unemployment and economic
hardship. This was partly absorbed by the establishment of a number
of large companies and government agencies.
From an
administrative point of view, Heerlen is today formed by four
districts - Heerlen-Stad, Heerlerheide, Heerlerbaan and Hoensbroek -
which are divided into separate districts. Heerlen is part of the
administrative partnership Parkstad Limburg, where a total of around
240,000 people live. Since 2006, this small city region in size has
had the special status of plus region. This status was abolished in
2014.
Although there are traces of earlier settlement, the
settlement history of Heerlen only began with the arrival of the
Romans. They founded a military settlement there 2000 years ago,
which they named Coriovallum. The Romans built, among other things,
a bathhouse and practiced pottery.
The oldest written mention
of Heerlen or 'Herle' is in a deed of 1065. Heerlen gradually
developed during the Middle Ages as an agricultural village, with
mills and farmsteads.
Heerlen was a fairly isolated village
until well into the 19th century. The main livelihood was
agriculture, there were no good supply and disposal roads. If you
wanted to travel by train, you first had to walk to Simpelveld (on
the railway line Aachen - Maastricht) or Sittard (the railway line
Maastricht - Venlo) to take the train there. It was also possible to
go to Valkenburg, Sittard or Aachen by postal wagon. It was not
until 1896 that the Sittard - Herzogenrath railway line was
established, built by the railway builder Henri Sarolea, who would
later manage the Oranje-Nassau mines with the brothers Carl and
Friedrich Honigmann.
That railway was urgently needed in
connection with the exploitation of coal. In 1894 the construction
of the Oranje-Nassau mine I, 1899–1974 had already started, which
went into production five years later. Three more mines were built
on Heerlen's territory: the Oranje-Nassau III (1917–1973) in
Heerlerheide, Oranje-Nassau IV (1927–1966) in Heksenberg and the
State Mine Emma (1911–1973) in Treebeek (at that time territory of
the municipality of Heerlen) .
The population grew
explosively in a short time: from a village with 6646 inhabitants in
1900 to a city of 32,263 inhabitants in 1930. For all these people
from home and abroad, houses, schools, shops and a hospital had to
be built, roads had to be built. and so on, all in a very short
time. It is therefore not surprising that very few historical
buildings have been preserved. In the great change from village to
city they no longer fit in a modern cityscape and so they were
demolished. The high chimneys at a coal mine were characteristic for
Heerlen during the mining period. These chimneys were popularly
referred to as Lange Jan (1938-1976, 138m) and Lange Lies
(1953-1976, 155m), and were visible from a very great distance.
Little reminds us of that coal past of the city. The slag heaps
have been excavated and turned into residential areas or parks, the
cooling towers and large chimneys have disappeared. The shaft
building of the Oranje-Nassau I is the most striking and immediate
remnant. The many neighborhoods that were built in the years before
the Second World War are still striking witnesses of that striking
period in Heerlen's history. The only remaining rock mountain in its
original state (also in the whole of the Netherlands), of the
Oranje-Nassau IV, is located on the edge of the Brunssummerheide,
but is threatened with excavation because it contains precious
silver sand.
Remarkable buildings have been preserved here
and there in Heerlen, reminding us of the time when Heerlen and the
Eastern Mining Region were a growth area. In 1935 a very famous
building was completed, the Glaspaleis of client and local
shopkeeper Peter Schunck.
After years of decay and
restoration, the Glass Palace was put back into use in 2004, now as
a cultural center. The building is located in the center of the
city, surrounded by the three central squares: Bongerd (Markt),
Pancratiusplein and Emmaplein. It is a national monument and one of
the 1,000 most important 20th-century buildings in the world
according to a Union of International Architects classification. In
addition, the building and its restoration have received many
awards. One of the aspects in which it was far ahead of its time is
energy consumption. Soon after commissioning, it turned out that the
installed heating was not necessary even in winter, because it works
like a greenhouse.
Heerlen is located in the
basin of Heerlen, where the Geleenbeek rises together with various
tributaries.
Heerlen is an elongated municipality and part of
the Eastern Mining Region. There are significant height differences.
The center is about 120 meters high. The coal mines and the
accompanying scattered development resulted in a fairly built-up
area that extends over adjacent (and annexed) cities such as
Hoensbroek, and neighboring municipalities such as Brunssum and
Landgraaf. After the mines were closed, most of their remains,
including the slag heaps, disappeared and industrial estates or
residential areas were built on these areas. Infrastructure, in
particular the almost parallel motorways Rijksweg 76 and
Provincialeweg 281, also contributed to the fragmentation of the
landscape.