Kerkrade (Kerkraads: Kirchroa, German: Kirchrath) is a Dutch municipality in the Eastern Mining Region in South Limburg. Adjacent municipalities include Heerlen and Landgraaf and the German municipality of Herzogenrath. Kerkrade is part of the administrative partnership plus region Parkstad Limburg. Kerkrade consists of the town of Kerkrade with the same name, and the cores Eygelshoven, Spekholzerheide, Chèvremont and Bleijerheide.
The suffix rade or red means "clearing up" or "reclaiming" and refers to the verb grubbing: clearing and tilling forest areas. The following can be added to this. The oldest form of this was roda. The football club Roda JC and the Rodahal are named after it. A border village in the municipality is called Haanrade (van Hanrothe or Hagenrode), of which the prefix Haan is traced to a person (Hago), but also to the word haag (fence). The name Kaalheide also refers to the cleared Kerkrade landscape.
Kerkrade was a part of Rode ('s-Hertogenrode or' s-Hertogenrade) in
the Brabant land of Overmaas. With the dissolution of the department
of the Lower Meuse as a result of the Congress of Vienna on April 5,
1815, 's-Hertogenrade itself was assigned to Prussia, but Kerkrade
was split off from it and remained Dutch territory. The latter did
not happen until more than a year later on June 26, 1816, with the
Aachen Treaty. A few years later, Belgium declares its independence
and makes Kerkrade Belgian territory. Kerkrade does not become Dutch
territory again until April 19, 1839 as a result of the Treaty of
London.
Together with Herzogenrath, Kerkrade again forms a
symbolic (but now Dutch-German) unity as Europastad Eurode.
Rodahal
The Rodahal is located in the center, on the
Europaplein. The hall was designed by Laurens Bisscheroux
(1934-1997) and opened in 1966. The hall was built as an event hall
and was extensively renovated in 1993 for the World Music
Competition (WMC), an internationally renowned music festival
every four years. with an emphasis on wind music. The Rodahal also
became famous when the Schlager Festival, presented by Dennie
Christian, was broadcast on TV. Rock legends such as Golden Earring,
Motörhead, Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper could also be found here, in
2007 The Southern Blues Night took place. The hall also offers
the opportunity for exhibitions, fairs and markets. The hall has a
special shape that relates to the hilly surroundings, like a bow
tie, popularly called "ut Sjtriksje". Also special is the hanging
roof construction. The Rodahal has a capacity of 2500 people. It was
rebuilt after 2005 for € 12 million, so that it again met the
requirements set by the next W.M.C. of 2009.
D'r Joep
Since 1957 D'r Joep, the national monument of the miners, has stood
on the Markt in the center of Kerkrade. There is also a Sacred Heart
statue on the Markt. In 2015 there was a Mining Year as part of the
Mine. 50 Joups were painted and edited by Kerkrade residents and
schools from Kerkrade, including De Brede Basisschool Steltloper and
subsequently exhibited on the market.
Orlando Festival
The
Orlando Festival is an annual event from which Kerkrade derives the
name "Sound City". This top chamber music event is highly regarded
nationally and internationally.
Music kiosk
In June 2001 a
new music kiosk was opened on the Markt in Kerkrade. The stage was
multifunctional and suitable for demonstrations and performances,
but was demolished in 2014.
Kerkrade town hall
The town
hall was built in the Neo-Renaissance style in the years 1912-1913
to a design by municipal architect C.J. Duykers. The town hall was
officially inaugurated on October 22, 1913 and is a copy of the
Nieuwer-Amstel town hall from 1890 in terms of architecture.
Theater Kerkrade
Theater Kerkrade (formerly Wijngrachttheater),
together with Theater Heerlen (formerly Stadsschouwburg Heerlen),
forms the Parkstad Limburg Theaters. Theater Kerkrade has 633 seats.
World Music Competition
The World Music Competition is an
international music festival held every four years in Kerkrade, the
last time in July 2017.
Carnival, or 'Vasteloavend', is celebrated in Kerkrade. Many
activities are organized by the three largest carnival associations
in Kerkrade. Vasteloavendsverain Kirchroa-West, Carnival association
Burgerlust and the large city carnival association Kirchröatsjer
Vasteloavends Verain Alaaf Kirchroa 1936 (KVV). The latter releases
six albums between 1966 and 2013 under the name “Kirchröatsjer
Sjpetsiejalietète”. The largest event is "D'r Jroeëse Tsog", the
annual carnival parade that takes place on Carnival Monday, one of
the longest and largest parades in Limburg with a length of 5
kilometers and more than 4,500 participants every year. In 2017,
nearly 5000 participants (158 numbers) took part in the parade. The
parade is known for the very colorful and often large groups and the
loners. Since 2016, the parade has been broadcast live for 5 hours
by the provincial TV channel L1. The renewed "Klonetrekke" on
Carnival Tuesday is also a typical Kerkrade carnival event that
attracts thousands of "klone" to the Kerkrade market. In the Rodahal
big "sietzòngen" are organized. Such as: the kingsite, the
herresitzong, the ladiesitzong, the vètdonnesjdigsietzòng and as the
apotheosis on Carnival Saturday the jalasietzòng. The Prinseroad of
the KVV organizes the renowned Jalabal, which is attended by nearly
1000 revelers every year. The city prince is proclaimed on the first
Sunday of the new year and resigns on Carnival Tuesday. Well-known
city princes from recent years were Paul Savelsberg, Louis Roukens,
Fer Kousen, Jos Bellen, Raoul Deckers, Rik Caumon and Marcel Mahr.
Many beautiful carnival songs in Kerkraads have appeared over the
years, such as Kirchröatsjer Meëdsjer, Aunt Annie oes Bennekom,
Sjweiermam, Ja, die Mokkel, 'T sjunste op de welt. Well-known
buutter drinkers are: Frans Haselier and Fer Kirt.
Center
Bleijerheide
See Bleijerheide boys' boarding school.
The
Rock Temple
The Rock Temple, located at Plein 13, is a concert
hall that focuses on the harder music styles.
In Kerkrade, a large part of the population speaks a Ripuarian dialect that is closely related to the dialects mainly spoken in Germany, such as the Cologne or Akens dialect. Most residents of Kerkrade easily switch from Dutch to German in their language use.
Castle Erenstein
Erenstein Castle is a
castle built around 1340 and is located in the Anstelvallei nature
reserve in Kerkrade. The castle moats are therefore fed by the
Anstelbeek. Nowadays a hotel is located in the castle and associated
farm. The castle is located right next to GaiaZOO and has its own
entrance to the animal park for guests. Every year in August, the
prestigious Castle of Love festival takes place, a major dance
event.
GaiaZOO
GaiaPark opened its doors in 2005. This
"thematic animal park" tells the story of the earth, of the present
and the past. Gaia is the Goddess "Mother Earth" from ancient
Greece. The Gaia hypothesis views the Earth as a living whole in
which everything is interrelated and influences each other. People
thought the name Gaiapark looked too much like a park and that is
why the name was changed to GaiaZOO. [Source?] In recent years,
GaiaZOO has grown into a well-known zoo that has already won several
awards; Every year GaiaZOO invests heavily to maintain the
attractiveness of this special zoo.
Discovery Center
Continium
Discovery Center Continium is a provincial museum for
industry and society. It tells the history of people and machines
over the past 150 years. Via a chronological route you can take a
look at the life of the past. It charts the industrial and social
development of Limburg and the surrounding countries. On June 15,
2009, the Discovery Center Continium officially reopened until that
date it was known under the name Industrion. Currently there is also
Cube, a museum about design. There is also Columbus, a hemisphere
where you are told a story about mining or about the origin of the
earth in 3 phases
Parkstad Limburg Stadium
The Parkstad
Limburg Stadium was completed in 2000 as a replacement for the
Kaalheide stadium. It is the home stadium of football club Roda JC
Kerkrade. The stadium has 19,979 seats, 2,500 business seats and 24
sky boxes. The building is also used for events such as the World
Music Competition.
Roda JC
Roda JC Kerkrade was created from mergers of
originally four football clubs. Kerkrade and Bleijerheide merged to
form Roda sport, Juliana merged with Rapid 54 to Rapid JC. Rapid JC
became national champion in 1956. In 1962 Roda Sport and Rapid JC
merged to form Roda JC, which stands for Roda Juliana Combination.
Roda JC played in Stadion Kaalheide and currently plays in Parkstad
Limburg Stadium. The club won the KNVB Cup twice.
Rolduc
Rolduc Abbey is the largest preserved monastery complex in the
Netherlands. It was founded in 1104 by Ailbertus van Anthoing. This
complex is characterized by the different architectural styles such
as Romanesque / Gothic and Mosan renaissance. Nowadays it houses the
priestly training of the diocese of Roermond as well as a hotel and
conference center. There is a rococo-style library, with many old
books. The abbey church is built in Romanesque style.
From April 1995 to November 2014, a steam train
ran between the stations Kerkrade-Centrum and Valkenburg. This was
managed by the South Limburg Steam Train Company (ZLSM). The
Kerkrade-Centrum - Simpelveld section is part of the Miljoenenlijn
(the construction of the line in 1925 cost one million guilders per
km). The steam train from Schin op Geul also ran on a few Sundays a
year to Heerlen between 2004 and 2007. Since the spring of 2015, the
ZLSM only runs a rail bus from Simpelveld to Kerkrade. Because this
rail bus is not allowed to run on the main network, it stops at a
special stop 'Kerkrade ZLSM', 50 meters before the Kerkrade-Centrum
station. This stop, already built in the 90s of the last century,
was completely renovated in August 2015.
Villa Krichelberg
Kerkrade has a rich Roman past due to its geographic location and
fertile soil. During that time, several farmers settled here. These
farmers built farms in a style that they had copied from the Romans,
for example with a colonnade in front and with roofs that can still
be seen in southern countries. An example of such a farm, a Villa
rustica, has been excavated on the Krichelstraat (Kaalheide
district): the Roman villa Kaalheide.
Worm Valley cycling
routes
Kerkrade has a cycle route network that is based on the
Node System. The municipalities of Kerkrade, Landgraaf,
Übach-Palenberg and Herzogenrath have developed the Wormdalroute /
Wurmtalroute. The Baalsbruggermolen is located in the Wormdal.
The municipality is characterized by the various
churches, some of which are national monuments. Churches in the
congregation are:
Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Bleijerheide
Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Chevremont
Protestant church
(former) in Chevremont
Johannes de Doperkerk in Eygelshoven
Kleine Kerkje (former Johannes de Doperkerk) in Eygelshoven
Our
Lady of Lourdes (former) in Gracht
Sacred Heart of Jesus Church
in Haanrade
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Heilust
Saint
Catherine's Church in Holz
Pastor of Arskerk (former) in Hopel
Saint Joseph's Church in Kaalheide
Happy Message Church in
Kerkrade
Sint-Jozef and Norbertuskerk (former) in Kerkrade
Saint Lambert's Church in Kerkrade center
Maria Goretti (former)
in Nulland
Abbey Church Rolduc (Abbey Rolduc)
Saint Martin's
Church in Spekholzerheide
Our Lady Immaculate Conception Church
in Terwinselen
In addition, there are a few monastery
churches and chapels:
Monastery chapel at Franciscan
monastery of Bleijerheide
Chapel of the former Ursuline monastery
Chevremont
Chapel of the former Elisabethstift in Kerkrade
There are also all kinds of chapels, including the Hambos
chapel.