Lottum is a village in the municipality of Horst aan de Maas, in the Dutch province of Limburg. The village has about 1,950 inhabitants and an area of 2,226 hectares and is located about 10 kilometers north of Venlo, on the river Maas, as the crow flies, and used to belong to the municipality of Grubbenvorst, which merged in 2001 with the municipality of Horst aan de Maas.
Lottum had its own alderman's bank around 1610, after it was elevated to a free barony in 1608 by Archduke Albrecht. The deed with an image of the coat of arms dates from 1651. It depicts Saint Quirinus as a knight with a lance in his right hand. To the left of Quirinus is the church patron Saint Gertrudis of Nivelles with a crook in her left hand, along which a mouse climbs up.
The area around Lottum was
already inhabited in Roman times. A church was founded around 1400.
Until 1563 the area belonged to the Abbey of Saint Quirinus, a
Benedictine abbey in Neuss in Germany. After that, the abbey
transferred ownership to Christoffel van Wylick and it remained the
property of that family for a long time. In 1608 his descendant,
Johan Christoffel van Wylick, was ennobled by King Philip III of
Spain as baron.
As a result of the Treaty of Munich in 1648,
Lottum became part of Spanish Guelders and then in 1713 to Prussia.
In 1815 Lottum was added to the Netherlands and this has remained
the case even after the Belgian secession.
Around 1900, the
rose cultivation started in Lottum, from which Lottum derives its
fame. At one point, 30% of the inhabitants were employed in rose
cultivation. A biennial Rose Festival has been held since 1922.
Borggraaf Castle dates from the late 15th century, is
in good condition and is visible from the road.
Kaldenbroek
Castle is first mentioned in 1394 and is a country house that is
also in good condition.
The Houthuizer Molen is a replica of the
windmill at Lottum that was destroyed during the Second World War,
built in 2007/8.
St. Gertrudiskerk from about 1400, rebuilt in
1951.
The Chapel of St. Quirinus
De Rozenhof Lottum, Top rose
garden and rose knowledge center
Lottum is located on the west bank of the Maas, at an altitude of
approximately 19 meters above sea level. The Siebersbeek flows from
the Schuitwater nature reserve through Lottum into the Maas. The
area around Lottum is mainly characterized by rose cultivation. In
the southwest there are heathlands.
The Molenbeek runs near
the hamlet of Houthuizen, which flows into the Maas a few hundred
meters further.
The Siebersbeek nature reserve is located
near the estuaries of both streams. To the south of this lies the
Kaldenbroek nature reserve.
Rose cultivation and
festival
More than 70 percent of the Dutch rose cultivation comes
from Lottum. In number, this concerns more than 20 million roses,
according to data from the Dutch horticultural organizations. Lottum
is the "Rose Village of the Netherlands". Every even year, the Rose
Festival takes place in Lottum around the second Sunday of August.
There are then gardens with mosaics and art objects decorated with
countless rose buds throughout Lottum. The festival each time
attracts 50,000 circs visitors. There is also the Rozenhof with a
knowledge center, in which all 65 rose varieties can be found that
have ever received the designation "Top rose" or the German
designation "ADR-rose". There is also a rose cycle route.
Lottum is one of the three villages where - at least according to tradition - the Gekke Maondaag (Dutch: Gekke Maandag) has been celebrated for several centuries. This is celebrated in Lottum one week before carnival. The "Gekke Maondaag" is a folk festival in which different floats and carnival-related groups run in a parade. The other two villages where this festival is celebrated are Velden and Grubbenvorst.
Arriva bus line 88 (Venray - Venlo via Broekhuizen and Meerlo) comes
through Lottum.
Until 1973, Lottum had its own station, although
passenger traffic was discontinued in 1938.
A ferry service runs
from Lottum across the Maas to Lomm. In the summer months there is
also a pedestrian and bicycle ferry between Arcen and Lottum.
On June 4, 1996, the body of a dead woman was found in
Lottum. Because the region is known for growing roses, she is called
the Rose girl. On October 29, 2010, it was revealed using DNA
techniques that it was 19-year-old Josefa from Poland.
In Berlin
there is a street named after Lottum because of the noble family of
Wylick van Lottum who lived in Lottum in the twelfth century. Its
descendants were Prussian officers.