Simpelveld (; ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the southeastern

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 ...

. It is part of the municipal cooperative unit

Parkstad Limburg Parkstad Limburg (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian and ) is a conurbation of seven municipalities of the Netherlands, municipalities in the southern part of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg in the Netherlands. Consisting of Heerlen, ...

. Simpelveld is part of the ''Mergelland'', named after the presence of

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 ...

(mergel),

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

country popular with tourists. The

Mergellandroute The Mergellandroute ("marl land route") is a tourist route through South Limburg, Netherlands, mapped out by the ANWB. The Mergellandroute goes mostly through the local hills, which are in contrast with the lesser relief found in the rest of th ...

passes through the town. The population centre of Simpelveld has 28 national monuments, amongst which are the Oude Molen and the

Saint Remigius Church The Saint Remigius Church (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Sint-Remigiuskerk'') is a Roman Catholic Church (building), church building in Simpelveld, The Netherlands. It is a Neo-romanticism, neoroman cross shaped church with three naves, a tower with a w ...

. Simpelveld has a

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

station and is the home base of the South Limburg Railway Company. On one weekend in October there is a

Day Out with Thomas Day Out with Thomas is a trade name, licensed by Mattel for tourist events that take place on heritage railways and feature one or more engines decorated to look like characters from the British children's television series ''Thomas & Friends''. ...

from the children's television series

Thomas and Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' is a British children's television series which aired from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher, the series was developed for television by Brit ...

Population centres

Bocholtz Bocholtz (; ) is a town in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. It is a part of the municipality of Simpelveld, and lies about 7 km southwest of Kerkrade. Until 1982, it was a separate municipality. History ...

*Simpelveld Besides these official centres there are other hamlets which fall under the

Religion

The municipality has two churches within its borders: *

James the Greater Church The James the Greater Church (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Jacobus de Meerderekerk'') is a Roman Catholic Church (building), church, located on the Pastoor Neujeanstraat 6 in Bocholtz, Netherlands. First mentioned in the 14th century, the current churc ...

in Simpelveld The city also has two monasteries, these are * the Loreto monastery and * Huize Damiaan, which has been home to The

International Butler Academy International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

since 2015.

Regional language

Simpelveld is part of The Netherlands and therefore the official language is Dutch. A lot of people also speak Simpelvelds, a

regional language * A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority La ...

that depending on the definition belongs to Ripuarian or

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 ...

. It is also referred to as

Southeast Limburgish Southeast Limburgish ( Dutch: ''Zuidoost-Limburgs'') is a cover term for the Ripuarian dialects spoken in Dutch Limburg. In the Netherlands and Belgium this group is often included in the generic term Limburgish. Limburgish was recognised as a ...

Notable people

Step Vaessen Stephanie "Step" Vaessen (born 11 February 1965) is a Dutch broadcast journalist, currently working as a Berlin correspondent for Al Jazeera English. Early life Vaessen is of Dutch origin and was born in Simpelveld in the province of Limburg, in ...

(born 1965) a Dutch broadcast journalist, currently working as a Moscow correspondent for

Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; , ) is a 24-hour English-language News broadcasting, news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is funded by the government of Qatar. Al Jazeera introduced an English-language division in 2006. It is ...

* Ralph Hamers (born 1966) a Dutch businessman, the chief executive officer (CEO) of UBS Group *

Jolanda Jetten Petronella Antonia Gerarda "Jolanda" Jetten (born 19 April 1970, Simpelveld) is a Dutch social psychologist and a professor at the University of Queensland. She won the Spearman Medal in 2004 and was inducted into the Academy of the Social Sc ...

(born 1970, Simpelveld) a Dutch social psychologist and academic

Gallery

File:Simpelveld, de Sint-Remigiuskerk RM33584 foto8 2016-07-10 16.38.jpg,

File:Station Simpelveld 29-08-2018 10-10-05.jpg, Station Simpelveld File:Baanheiwkped08.JPG, Limburgs, De Boanhei File:Simpelveld, aerial view.JPG, Aerial view of Simpelveld

References

External links

* * Municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands) South Limburg (Netherlands) {{LimburgNL-geo-stub