Valkenburg aan de Geul

Valkenburg aan de Geul Valkeberg aan de Geul
Municipality
Valkenburg city centre
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode	6300–6305, 6325, 6340–6342
Area code	043
Website	www.valkenburg.nl

Valkenburg aan de Geul (Dutch:

In the 19th century, because of the natural environment of the area, Valkenburg became a holiday destination for the well-to-do in the Netherlands. Tourism developed, especially after in 1853 the railway from Maastricht to Heerlen and Aachen opened. Valkenburg railway station is the oldest surviving station in the Netherlands. In the beginning of the 20th century, Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers lived in Valkenburg for several years. He helped develop tourism by designing a hotel, an open-air theater and a copy of the catacombs of Rome. He also restored the medieval church and designed several tombs and a chapel in Gothic Revival style in a graveyard situated on Cauberg, a steep hill outside the town center.

During the

Valkenburg is no longer a fortified town but it has largely retained its historical charm, although the town suffered heavily from mass tourism in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The municipality of Valkenburg aan de Geul still hosts more than 1 million overnight stays a year. The present aim of the council of Valkenburg is to move away from mass tourism and emphasize "the natural and historical beauty of the town".^{[citation needed]} In order to attract more "quality tourism" a plan was made called Vestingstad Valkenburg (Fortification Town Valkenburg). Included in the plan were the restoration of two surviving city gates, the rebuilding of Geulpoort, a 14th-century city gate that was demolished along with the castle in the 17th century, and the reconstruction of the defensive moat along the Medieval wall in Halderpark. More or less simultaneously initiated was the redevelopment of the town's shopping district, finished around 2017.

The river Geul flooded its banks on 15 July 2021, causing considerable damage to bridges and buildings in the entire town centre.^[5]

Main sights

These days Valkenburg is known for its tourist attractions, chalk houses (locally called mergel or marl) and the hilly countryside. The main sight are:

• Valkenburg castle
  , of which only a ruin remains;
• several other castles, castle farms and stately homes, mostly situated along the Geul river;
• Oud-Valkenburg, a small village along the Geul with a particularly picturesque ensemble of a gothic church, two castles (Genhoes and Schaloen) and several historic farmsteads, all in local marlstone;
• several watermills, two in the old town;
• parts of the city walls and two of three city gates survived (Berkelpoort and Grendelpoort; the third gate, Geulpoort was rebuilt in 2014);
• old court building (Spaans Leenhof);
• Saint Nicolas church, a Gothic church in Valkenburg with some late Medieval wood carvings;
• Saint Gerlachus church in nearby Houthem Sint-Gerlach, with Baroque frescos by Johann Adam Schöpf, painted on marl;
• several former marl quarries (locally called 'caves', although they are largely man-made), offering guided tours; some have interesting charcoal drawings and marl sculptures, one has been recreated as the
  coal mine; in the winter Christmas markets
  are held in some quarries;
• a 30-metre-high (98-foot) viewing tower (Wilhelminatoren) atop a hill, connected to the town below by aerial lift;
• Thermae 2000, a sauna and wellness resort;
• a Holland Casino branch, as well as a large park around it (Kuurpark);
• two
  amusement parks
  ; one focusing on popular fairy tales (Sprookjesbos);

Valkenburg is situated in a part of the Netherlands that is known for its natural environment and historical buildings. The area, although quite hilly, is perfectly suited for walks or (mountain) bike tours.^{[original research?]}

Listed buildings in Valkenburg

• 
  St Nicholas church
• 
  City walls
• 
  Railway station
• 
  Watermill

Castles and stately homes in Valkenburg

• 
  Ruined castle
• 
  Den Halder castle
• 
  Oost castle
• 
  Schaloen castle

Tourist attractions in Valkenburg

• 
  Grotestraat, Valkenburg mainstreet
• 
  Wilhelmina tower
• 
  Hotel built by Cuypers
• 
  Tourists queueing at

  Valkenburg castle
• 
  Roman catacombs (Cuypers)

Cycling

Valkenburg aan de Geul is famous for its cycling events. The city has hosted the

Population centres

Apart from the city of Valkenburg (including the neighbourhood of Broekhem), the municipality of Valkenburg aan de Geul comprises the following villages and hamlets:

Transport

By car

Valkenburg aan de Geul is served by the A79 motorway, this motorway runs from Maastricht to Heerlen.

By train

Valkenburg aan de Geul has three train stations Valkenburg, Houthem-Sint Gerlach and Schin op Geul, operated by Arriva.

By bus

Valkenburg aan de Geul is served by Arriva buses

Notable residents

• Saint Gerlach (died c. 1170), hermit
• queen of Germany
• Pierre Cuypers (1827 – 1921), architect; spent a few years in Valkenburg
• entomologist
• Jan Hanlo (1912 - 1969), poet and writer, grew up in Valkenburg
• Raymond Barion (born 1946) a Dutch artist, made in the form of paintings, sculptures and on paper
• Schiphol Group
• Marjon Lambriks (born 1949), soprano
• Rob Delahaye (born 1959) a Dutch former professional footballer with 359 club caps
• Camiel Eurlings (born 1973), politician, business leader, corporate director for KLM
• Rob Ruijgh (born 1986), racing cyclist

Panorama

Panorama of hilly landscape in Valkenburg aan de Geul, between Oud-Valkenburg and Schin op Geul

References

External links

• Media related to Valkenburg aan de Geul at Wikimedia Commons
• Valkenburg aan de Geul travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website (in Dutch)