Horst aan de Maas, Netherlands

 

Horst aan de Maas is a municipality in Dutch North Limburg. It was initially created by a municipal reorganization of 1 January 2001 from the then municipalities of Broekhuizen, Horst and Grubbenvorst. Only thanks to these additions did the enlarged municipality of Horst also come to lie on the Maas. As of 1 January 2010, Horst aan de Maas has further merged with the municipality of Sevenum and a part of the municipality of Meerlo-Wanssum. Sevenum, the second larger core of the new municipality, was an independent municipality between 1836 and 2010. The newly enlarged municipality, which has retained the name Horst aan de Maas, consists of sixteen centers.

The municipality has 42,416 inhabitants (1 August 2020, source: CBS) and has an area of 191.92 km² (of which 3.32 km² is water). In terms of population, it is the fourth largest municipality in North Limburg after Venlo, Venray and Peel en Maas. In terms of area, the municipality of Horst aan de Maas is the largest municipality in Limburg.

 

Geography

The municipality of Horst aan de Maas is located on the left bank of the Maas - the Maasland, which merges further west into the Peel.

 

Neighbourhoods

In the north of the municipality are the villages of Meerlo, Tienray and Swolgen, which until 2010 belonged to the municipality of Meerlo-Wanssum. The villages of Broekhuizenvorst, Broekhuizen, Lottum and Grubbenvorst are located in the east of the municipality along the Maas. On the other hand, Griendtsveen is about 20 km away in the far west of the municipality. In the middle are the main town Horst, where the town hall is located and the surrounding villages of Melderslo, Hegelsom and Meterik. South of Horst is the second core, Sevenum, and between Sevenum and Griendtsveen are the villages America, Evertsoord and Kronenberg.

 

History

Horst and the other villages belonged to the Overkwartier of Gelre or Spanish Upper Gelre. During the War of the Spanish Succession it was occupied by States forces, after which it was handed over to the Prussian ally in 1713. As part of Prussian Upper Guelders, it remained Prussian for about a century (until 1815).

 

Transport

Horst-Sevenum train station is located between Horst and Sevenum, in the heart of Hegelsom, on the rail link between Venlo and Eindhoven. The rail connection between Roermond and Nijmegen also runs through the municipality. But this connection does not have a train station in the municipality of Horst aan de Maas. There are plans to build a train station in Grubbenvorst.

There are 2 motorways through the municipality. The A73 (Nijmegen - Roermond) runs straight through the municipality and has 2 exits for Horst and 1 exit for Grubbenvorst. In the south runs the A67 (Eindhoven - Venlo), which has an exit for Sevenum.

 

Agriculture and horticulture

Until 2001 there was a large auction (ZON) in Grubbenvorst. In the event of a municipal reorganization, this was transferred to the municipality of Venlo (city district Blerick). Horst is an important center of agriculture, about 1/3 of the total Dutch mushroom production comes from here. There is also a company that makes preserved mushrooms. Lottum is seen as the rose village of the Netherlands, around 70% of all Dutch roses are grown here. The municipality has one of the largest greenhouse horticulture areas in the Netherlands with the California greenhouse horticulture area.

 

Tourism and recreation

The municipality participated in the Floriade in 2012. In Horst aan de Maas there are four castles: Ooijen, Borggraaf, Kaldenbroek and de Kolck, also Huis De Steeg in Grubbenvorst and three castle ruins: Horst Castle, Broken Castle and Broekhuizen Castle. Two holiday parks are located at America, Center Parcs Het Meerdal and Center Parcs Limburgse Peel. The municipality also contains the more than 500 hectares of Schadijkse forests where various walking routes are marked. In the outskirts of Sevenum are Toverland Theme Park, Landal De Schatberg Recreation Center / Domain and Gasterie Lieve Hemel. In Kronenberg restaurant Croonenborgh.

 

Destinations

The Sint-Lambertus church in Horst, dating from 1952, is considered a highlight in the oeuvre of architect Alphons Boosten
The band De Heideroosjes comes from Horst
The band Rowwen Hèze is from America
Grubbenvorst had an airport until 2009 (Grubbenvorst airport)
Horst aan de Maas is a Millennium Municipality.