Oirsbeek
Encyclopedia
Schinnen
Schinnen is a municipality and a town in the province of Limburg, the Netherlands. It is home to US Army Garrison Schinnen, a support base for US personnel assigned to nearby Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum...
.
Between 1839 and 1982, Oirsbeek was a separate municipality. Oirsbeek has about 4000 inhabitants.
The Sint Lambertuskerk, a Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, was built in 1951 by Frits Peutz
Frits Peutz
F.P.J. Peutz was a Dutch architect.Peutz was born in a Catholic family in Uithuizen in Groningen, a mostly Protestant province in the north of the Netherlands. In 1910 he was sent to the Rolduc boarding school in Kerkrade in the Catholic province of Limburg for his higher education. In 1914 he...
on the remains of two older churches: the original church built in 1514 and a second church built in 1830.
It is unknown where the name Oirsbeek originates from. It is certain that the name has to do with the creek ("beek" is Dutch for creek) that used to flow through the village. "Oir" could come from "Oer" (meaning iron-rich dirt) which is found in the area. The creek was called "vloot" by people from Oirsbeek in the past. Currently it runs through a tube in the ground under the "Grachtstraat". From there it flows in the direction of Wolfhagen, part of the village of Schinnen.
Oirsbeek used to be one of 4 suburbs, "Gracht", "Klein-Doenrade", "Oirsbeek" and "Oppeven".
Hells Angels
Until 2004 a famous chapter of the Hells Angels Holland, The Nomads, had its clubhouse in Oirsbeek. On 11 February 2004 the chairman and two members were killed by the other members in the clubhouse. The dead bodies were found two days later in a small river near Echt-SusterenEcht-Susteren
Echt-Susteren is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. Echt-Susteren was created in 2003 by merging the former municipalities of Echt and Susteren....
. This tragedy was world news for some time. Many Hells Angels from all over the world came to the funeral of the three members in Sittard
Sittard
Sittard is a city in the Dutch province of Limburg, which is the southernmost province of the Netherlands.On the east Sittard borders on Germany . It has some 48,400 inhabitants . Sittard is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen...
. The event was broadcast live on Dutch television.