Voerendaal is a municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 and a town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 in the southeastern Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

.

Population centres

Barrier, Colmont, Craubeek, Dolberg, Eyserheide, Fromberg, Heek, Hellebeuk, Klimmen

Klimmen

Klimmen is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Voerendaal, about 7 km west of Heerlen.Klimmen was a separate municipality until 1982, when it was merged with Voerendaal....

, Koulen, Kunrade, Mingersberg, Opscheumer, Overheek, Ransdaal, Retersbeek, Termaar, Termoors, Ubachsberg, Voerendaal, Weustenrade

Weustenrade

Weustenrade is a village in the Netherlands, province Limburg, mun. Voerendaal. Circa 300 houses, near Hoensbroek, Voerendaal and Klimmen. There are still several old seventeenth century houses, among which the 'oliemolen' ....

, Winthagen.

History

During Roman times Voerendaal was known as Furenthela. The Romans left the ruins from a Roman villa rustica

Villa rustica

Villa rustica was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a villa set in the open countryside, often as the hub of a large agricultural estate . The adjective rusticum was used to distinguish it from an urban or resort villa...

 as a legacy. In 1049 pope Leo IX

Pope Leo IX

Pope Saint Leo IX , born Bruno of Eguisheim-Dagsburg, was Pope from February 12, 1049 to his death. He was a German aristocrat and as well as being Pope was a powerful secular ruler of central Italy. He is regarded as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, with the feast day of April 19...

 initiated the Catholic Church - Sint Laurentiuskerk. During medieval times many castles were built: Cortenbach, Haeren, Puth, Rivieren and Terworm. Also castles such as Hoenshuis and Overst Voerendaal. The area was mined for marl

Marl

Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...

 (mergel in Dutch) and coal

Coal mining

The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...

.

Transportation

Railway Station:Klimmen-Ransdaal

Klimmen-Ransdaal railway station

Klimmen-Ransdaal is a railway station located in Ransdaal and is near Klimmen, The Netherlands.-History:The station was opened on 1 March 1915 and is on the Heuvellandlijn...

, Voerendaal

Voerendaal railway station

Voerendaal is a railway station located in Voerendaal, The Netherlands. The services are operated by Veolia.-Train service:The following services currently call at Voerendaal:...

External links

• Official website