Echt (; ) is a city in the Dutch

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' ...

Echt-Susteren Echt-Susteren (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. Echt-Susteren was created in 2003 by merging the former municipalities of Echt, Netherlands, Echt and Susteren. Echt-Susteren is situated in ...

in the province of Limburg,

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 was a municipality itself until it merged with the municipality of Susteren on 1 January 2003. The municipality of Echt had about 19,300 inhabitants and an

area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

of about 75,13 square km.

History

First recorded in the 7th century, Echt was a village, then within the

County of Loon The County of Loon ( , ) was a county in the Holy Roman Empire, which corresponded approximately with the modern Belgian province of Limburg. It was named after the original seat of its count, Loon, which is today called Borgloon. During the mid ...

. Between 928 and 939

Gerberga of Saxony Gerberga of Saxony ( 913 – 5 May 968/9 or 984?) was the queen of West Francia by marriage to Louis IV of France between 939 and 954. She ruled as regent during the minority of their son Lothair in 954–959. She was a member of the Ottonian ...

gave the estate of "Ettha" and its church to the St Servatius community in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

. In 1075/1076 Gerard I of Guelders, received the estate of Echt on loan from Albert III, Count of

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

and deputy duke of

Lower Lorraine The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as '' Lothier'' or '' Lottier''

. However, a charter from

Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son of Henry III, Holy ...

from 1087 gives a different picture of this donation: according to the Godschalk van Aken, Gerard I of Guelders is said to have illegally taken possession of the church of Echt ("Echta") ("invaserat"), while this belonged to the St. Servatius Chapter. By judgment of the imperial court of

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

("Aquisgrani") the church of Echt was returned to the Maastricht chapter. The

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking membe ...

of Echt, who had their own seal, are mentioned first on 29 June 1259. A source from 1590 shows Echt as a "Minderstädteof" (small town) within the States of Upper Guelders. Small towns were legally and economically less privileged than large cities such as

Roermond Roermond (; or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received City rights i ...

. Nevertheless, it had a wall with gates, a hospital and

cloth hall A cloth hall or linen hall (; ; ; ) is a historic building located in the centre of the main marketplace of a European town. Cloth halls were built from Medieval architecture, medieval times into the 18th century. A cloth hall contained trading st ...

. A city

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

was constructed after the second half of the 13th century. In May 1397, during a war between Brabant and Gelderland, the people of

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

destroyed the fortified town. In 1473 the city was conquered by

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

, while in 1497 Maximilian I took its castle. However, the city was recaptured by Guelders shortly thereafter. In 1556, during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

, it was looted by mercenaries in the Spanish army. It then changed occupiers several times and suffered waves of destruction. Of the old fortifications only the canals were left by the end of the war. After significant depopulation caused by wars and plagues, Echt was usually considered to be a village. Only after 1630 was it again consistently referred to as

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, even by its own aldermen. At the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

, ending the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

in 1713, Echt became part of the United Provinces together with

Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), ...

and Montfort. In 1795 Guelders was finally conquered and incorporated by the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted un ...

, and partitioned between the départements of

Roer The Roer (, ) or Rur (; ) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse (). About 90 percent of the river's course is in Germany. It is not to be conf ...

and Meuse-Inférieure

Sights

* Sint Landricuskerk, a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

. * Lilbosch Abbey () a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

of the

Trappists The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

. *

Carmelite Monastery Carmelite Monastery (Sisters of Mercy Convent) is a historic monastery at 400 E. Carpenter Street in Stanton, Texas. It was built in 1882 and added to the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) ...

, founded 1879, known for

Edith Stein Edith Stein (; ; in religion Teresa Benedicta of the Cross; 12 October 1891 – 9 August 1942) was a German philosopher who converted to Catholic Church, Catholicism and became a Discalced Carmelites, Discalced Carmelite nun. Edith Stein was mu ...

* Huis Verduynen, a moated mansion first mentioned in 1400 and rebuilt in 1667 * Sint-Rochus chapel, founded in 1686 and rebuilt in 1910 * Chapel of Our Lady, a 17h-century chapel File:Exterieur ZUIDGEVEL - Schilberg - 20268616 - RCE.jpg, Chapel of Our Lady File:Echt (Echt-Susteren) kerk noordwestzijde.JPG, Northwest side of the Saint Landricuskerk File:Echt, Limburg, hoekhuis Plats 8.JPG, Corner house in Echt File:Abdij Lilbosch (Echt-Susteren) kerk exterieur priesterkoor.JPG, Priests' choir in Lilbosch Abbey

Economy

From the late 19th century, Echt was the centre of an important

roof tile Roof tiles are overlapping tiles designed mainly to keep out precipitation such as rain or snow, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as clay or slate. Later tiles have been made from materials such as concrete, glass ...

industry. There are two business parks in Echt, namely De Berk, and De Loop.

Nature and landscape

Echt is located on the Maas river, at a height of about 28 meters. To the west of Echt are industrial estates, a motorway and the

Juliana Canal The Juliana Canal ( ; ), named after Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, is a long canal in the southern Netherlands, providing a bypass of an unnavigable section of the river Meuse between Maastricht and Maasbracht. It is an important transpo ...

. To the east, the hamlets of Schilberg and Hingen and the church village of Pey are attached to Echt. Other nearby hamlets include Gebroek, Slek and Ophoven to the south, Aasterberg to the west, and Berkelaar to the north.

Transportation

* Echt is near the A2 and A73 highways. * Echt railway station is served by NS: Dutch Railways (''Dutch: Nederlandse Spoorwegen'') * Echt has its own quay on the

Notable people

* Piet van den Brekel (1932–1999) a Dutch racing cyclist * Annefleur Bruggeman (born 1997) a Dutch handball player * Rob Ehrens (born 1957) a Dutch equestrian * Maud Hawinkels (born 1976) a Dutch TV presenter * Adrian van Hooydonk (born 1964) a Dutch automobile designer * Theo van der Leeuw (born 1949) a Dutch racing cyclist * Ien Lucas (born 1955) a Dutch visual artist * Ria Oomen-Ruijten (born 1950) a Dutch politician * Ben Scheres (born 1960) a Dutch developmental biologist * Laurence Stassen (born 1971) a Dutch politician *

(1891–1942) a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Catholicism and became a nun * Sef Vergoossen (born 1947) a Dutch football manager * Jacques Verheyen (1911–1989) a Dutch glazier and painter * Frans Wackers (born 1939) a medical doctor and research scientist

References

External links

{{Authority control Cities in the Netherlands Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2003 Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands) Former municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) Echt-Susteren