The Noor or Langwater (

Limburgish Limburgish ( or ; ; also Limburgian, Limburgic or Limburgan) refers to a group of South Low Franconian Variety (linguistics), varieties spoken in Belgium and the Netherlands, characterized by their distance to, and limited participation ...

: ''Laankwater'') is a river in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The Noor is a right-bank

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

to the river

Voer The Voer (Dutch, ; ) is a small river in Belgium and the Netherlands. It is a right-bank tributary to the river Meuse. It has three (creek-) tributaries of its own: the ''Veurs'', the ''Noor (Meuse), Noor'' and the ''Beek''. The source of the Voer ...

, which later joins the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

. Rising in Eijsden-Margraten, in the Dutch province of Limburg, the Noor eventually drains in the river

Voeren Voeren (; ) is a Flanders, Flemish Dutch language, Dutch-speaking Municipalities of Belgium, municipality with Municipalities with language facilities, facilities for the Walloons, French-speaking minority, located in the Belgium, Belgian provi ...

, in the Belgian province of Limburg. A source of the Noor can be found at the Brigida spring ( Dutch: ''Sint Brigidabron'') in the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Wesch, north of the village of Noorbeek, in the municipality of Eijsden-Margraten, where water wells up from the

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

underground. The spring and the adjacent 18th century

lavoir A lavoir (, wash-house) is a public place set aside for the washing of clothes. Communal washing places were common in Europe until industrial washing was introduced, and this process in turn was replaced by domestic washing machines and by s ...

, named after Brigid of Kildare, patron saint of the village of Noorbeek, form a Dutch

national heritage site A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage regis ...

. From Wesch the river flows south, passing west of the village of Noorbeek ( Dutch: ''Noor river''), which was named after the river. Passing Noorbeek the Noor continues southward through the Noor valley, south of the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

of Margraten, and is one of only few Dutch rivers to flow southward into Belgium. The Dutch part of the Noor valley ( Dutch: ''Noordal'') contains a nature reserve, with the same name, managed by the Dutch Society for preservation of Nature Monuments. After crossing the border into Belgium the Noor flows past Castle Altenbroek and the Watermill at Altenbroek in

. This 18th century castle is a

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

heritage site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

. The Belgian part of the Noor valley is a Flemish

protected landscape IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is part ...

as part of the larger

valley protected landscape. The Noor eventually drains in the river

near the village of

's-Gravenvoeren Voeren (; ) is a Flemish Dutch-speaking municipality with facilities for the French-speaking minority, located in the Belgian province of Limburg. Bordering the Netherlands to the north and the Wallonia region's Liège Province () to the ...

in the municipality of

Gallery

File:Noorbeek (165).JPG, A source of the Noor at Wesch File:Noorbeek-Brigadabron.JPG, Monumental 18th century

at Wesch File:Gravenvoeren-Molen van Altenbroek5.JPG, Watermill at Altenbroek File:Gravenvoeren-Molen van Altenbroek7.JPG, The Noor passing the watermill at Altenbroek File:Altembroek (73).JPG, The Noor at Castle Altenbroek

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Noor (Meuse) Rivers of South Limburg (Netherlands) Rivers of Limburg (Belgium) Eijsden-Margraten Voeren Rivers of Belgium Rivers of the Netherlands