Meerssen

Municipality and town in Limburg, Netherlands

Meerssen

Meersje (Limburgish)

Municipality and town

Geulle Castle

Flag

Coat of arms

Location in Limburg

Coordinates: 50°53′N 5°45′E﻿ / ﻿50.883°N 5.750°E﻿ / 50.883; 5.750
Country| Netherlands
Province| Limburg
Government

[1]

• Body| Municipal council
• Mayor| Mirjam Clermonts-Aretz (VVD)
Area

[2]

• Total

| 27.70 km2 (10.70 sq mi)
• Land| 26.96 km2 (10.41 sq mi)
• Water| 0.74 km2 (0.29 sq mi)
Elevation

[3]

| 57 m (187 ft)
Population

(January 2021)[4]

• Total

| 18,661
• Density| 692/km2 (1,790/sq mi)
Demonym| Meerssenaar
Time zone| UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)| UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode|

6230–6243

Area code| 043
Website| www.meerssen.nl
Dutch Topographic map of Meerssen, June 2015

Meerssen (Dutch: [ˈmeːrsə(n)] ⓘ; Limburgish: Meersje [ˈmeːʀʃə]) is a town and a municipality in southeastern Netherlands.

## History

[edit]

The Treaty of Meerssen was signed in Meerssen in 870. The Treaty of Meerssen was an agreement of the division of the Carolingian Empire by the surviving sons of Louis I: Charles II of the West Franks and Louis the German of the East Franks.

Around the middle of the 10th century the allodium Meerssen was the property of queen Gerberga, the daughter of king Henry I. She was the spouse of Louis IV of France. In 968 she donated all her property to the abbey of Saint Remigius in Reims.

## Population centres

[edit]

* Bunde
* Geulle
* Meerssen
* Rothem
* Ulestraten

## Transportation

[edit]

Railway station: Meerssen

Basilica: Basiliek van het Heilig Sacrament, de Sint-Bartholomeusbasiliek

## International relations

[edit]

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Netherlands

### Twin towns – sister cities

[edit]

Meerssen is a founding member of the Douzelage, a town twinning association of 24 towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals.[5][6] Discussions regarding membership are also in hand with three further towns (Agros in Cyprus, Škofja Loka in Slovenia, and Tryavna in Bulgaria).

* Altea, Spain \- 1991
* Bad Kötzting, Germany \- 1991
* Bellagio, Italy \- 1991
* Bundoran, Ireland \- 1991
* Granville, France \- 1991
* Holstebro, Denmark \- 1991
* Houffalize, Belgium \- 1991
* Meerssen, Netherlands \- 1991
* Niederanven, Luxembourg \- 1991
* Preveza, Greece \- 1991
* Sesimbra, Portugal \- 1991
* Sherborne, United Kingdom \- 1991
* Karkkila, Finland \- 1997
* Oxelösund, Sweden \- 1998
* Judenburg, Austria \- 1999
* Chojna, Poland \- 2004
* Kőszeg, Hungary \- 2004
* Sigulda, Latvia \- 2004
* Sušice, Czech Republic \- 2004
* Türi, Estonia \- 2004
* Zvolen, Slovakia \- 2007
* Prienai, Lithuania \- 2008
* Marsaskala, Malta \- 2009
* Siret, Romania \- 2010
* Tryavna, Bulgaria \- 2011

## Notable people

[edit]

* Charles Eyck (1897 in Meerssen - 1983) a Dutch visual artist
* Hubert Levigne (1905 in Meerssen - 1989) a Dutch artist
* Gerard Kockelmans (1925 in Meerssen - 1965) a Dutch composer, conductor and music teacher
* Jef Lahaye (1932 in Bunde – 1990) a Dutch professional racing cyclist
* Maria van der Hoeven (born 1949 in Meerssen) a retired Dutch politician
* Erik Meijer (born 1969 in Meerssen) a retired Dutch footballer with 462 club caps
* Kyara Stijns (born 1995 in Bunde) a Dutch professional racing cyclist

## Gallery

[edit]

* Geulle-Westbroek

* Old farm near Meerssen

* Overzicht van een der vleugels van de herenhof - Bunde

* Ulestraten-De nar van Ulestraten

* Ulestraten-Groot Berghem

## References

[edit]

Notes

1. ^ "Burgemeester" [Mayor] (in Dutch). Gemeente Meerssen. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
2. ^ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
3. ^ "Postcodetool for 6231LE". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
4. ^ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
5. ^ "Douzelage.org: Home". www.douzelage.org. Archived from the original on 2010-02-17. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
6. ^ "Douzelage.org: Member Towns". www.douzelage.org. Archived from the original on 2009-04-06. Retrieved 2009-10-21.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Meerssen at Wikimedia Commons
* Official website

Places adjacent to Meerssen

| Maasmechelen (BE-VLI) / Meuse | Stein | Beek

|
|

|  |
Lanaken (BE-VLI) / Meuse |

Meerssen

| Beekdaelen
|  |
| Maastricht | Valkenburg aan de Geul

* v
* t
* e

Populated places in the municipality of Meerssen

Villages|

* Bunde
* Geulle
* Geulle aan de Maas [nl]
* Meerssen
* Moorveld [nl]
* Rothem [nl]
* Ulestraten

List of cities, towns and villages in Limburg (Netherlands)

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities of Limburg

* Beek
* Beekdaelen
* Beesel
* Bergen
* Brunssum
* Echt-Susteren
* Eijsden-Margraten
* Gennep
* Gulpen-Wittem
* Heerlen
* Horst aan de Maas
* Kerkrade
* Landgraaf
* Leudal
* Maasgouw
* Maastricht
* Meerssen
* Mook en Middelaar
* Nederweert
* Peel en Maas
* Roerdalen
* Roermond
* Simpelveld
* Sittard-Geleen
* Stein
* Vaals
* Valkenburg aan de Geul
* Venlo
* Venray
* Voerendaal
* Weert

* See also
* Netherlands
* Provinces
* Municipalities

* v
* t
* e

European Union: Members of the town twinning "Douzelage"

Current members|

*  Agros
*  Altea
*  Asikkala
*  Bad Kötzting
*  Bellagio
*  Bundoran
*  Chojna
*  Granville
*  Holstebro
*  Houffalize
*  Judenburg
*  Kőszeg
*  Marsaskala
*  Meerssen
*  Niederanven
*  Oxelösund
*  Preveza
*  Rokiškis
*  Rovinj
*  Sesimbra
*  Sherborne
*  Sigulda
*  Siret
*  Škofja Loka
*  Sušice
*  Tryavna
*  Türi
*  Zvolen

Former members|

*  Karkkila (1997–2016)
*  Prienai (2008–2018)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany

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