Heerlen

Nestled in the foothills of the Limburg Downs and the Eifel region, Heerlen is a special place. Although it was founded by the Romans, it has the appearance and the amenities of a city that grew up in the twentieth century. Heerlen did not develop from a central core; it expanded outwards from the mining communities that surrounded the various coal pits dotted throughout the area. The mining industry spurred Heerlen’s growth. Within just a hundred years it had transformed itself from a small collection of hamlets with approximately 6,000 inhabitants into a city of 95,000 people. This unusual history and its situation in two stream valleys have turned Heerlen into a city in which modern architecture and facilties are interlaced with green landscape features.

Cross-border
Borders exist so that people can cross them. In Heerlen, border-crossings are an everyday affair for both the local population and the municipal authorities.

Anyone looking up Heerlen on a map will notice that it borders the towns of Kerkrade, Brunssum and Landgraaf. The four towns together form an urban population centre of 220,000. To all intents and purposes their inhabitants live, work and act as if they live in one large city.

That is why these four towns and the four rural municipalities surrounding them have entered into a close partnership that enables them to exploit the special potential of this region more effectively. The name of the partnership is Parkstad Limburg; that is also the name given to the region, with Heerlen at its centre.

Heerlen’s location on the national border of the Netherlands has also opened up splendid opportunities for its people and its administrators. One of the most striking projects thus far is Avantis, the cross-border business park developed by Heerlen and its neighbour to the east, the German city of Aachen. Cross-border partnerships have extended into the field of education as well, with Heerlen’s Hogeschool Zuyd (a Dutch polytechnic) and Aachen’s Fachhochschule (a German polytechnic) working together closely.

People on both sides of the Dutch-German border have discovered the amenities on the other side. Young people in Heerlen study in Aachen, and vice versa. Municipal theatres, museums and other recreational facilities attract audiences and visitors from both communities. Heerlen’s many shops are popular not only with Dutch people for miles around, but also with their German neighbours. The Home Furnishings Boulevard draws in millions of visitors every year, many of them from abroad.