Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, situated in the southernmost province of
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
.
The town is part of the municipality of
Sittard-Geleen
Sittard-Geleen (; li, Zittert-Gelaen ) is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It was formed in 2001 from the former municipalities Sittard, Geleen and Born.
The combined municipality has approximately 92,518 inhabitants (March 2019) ...
and has almost 37.500 inhabitants in 2016.
In its east, Sittard borders the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
municipality of
Selfkant
Selfkant (; nl, Selfkant or ''Zelfkant'' ; Limburgish: ) is a municipality in the Heinsberg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the most westerly municipality in Germany.
Geography
Isenbruch in Selfkant is the most westerly po ...
(in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
).
The city centre is located at 45 m above sea level.
History
Archaeological discoveries have dated the first settlement in the Sittard area around 5000 B.C. Present day Sittard is assumed to have been founded around 850 A.D. and to have been built around a
motte
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
. Sittard was first mentioned in 1157. It was granted
city rights
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
by the
Duke of Limburg
The counts of Limburg ruled a medieval county with its capital at Limbourg-sur-Vesdre, lying between Liège and Aachen. They rose to prominence when one of them was appointed Duke of Lower Lorraine. Though Lorraine was later confiscated, the ...
in 1243. In 1400 it was sold to the Duchy of Jülich, and remained in its possession until 1794. The city was destroyed and rebuilt repeatedly, due to fires and various conflicts during the 15th-17th century. It was a stronghold until it was largely destroyed in 1677, during the
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...
Roer
The Rur or Roer (german: Rur ; Dutch and li, Roer, , ; french: Rour) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse ( nl, links=no, Maas). About 90 perce ...
department. Since 1814, it has been part of the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, except for the years 1830–1839, when it joined the Belgian Revolution. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, it was occupied by the Germans, who incorporated several small municipalities, like
Broeksittard
Broeksittard (; li, Broukzittert ) is a former village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is now a neighbourhood of the town Sittard, and part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen
Sittard-Geleen (; li, Zittert-Gelaen ) is a municipality ...
, into Sittard. The city was liberated September 18–19, 1944 by the 2nd Armored Division. The historic town was mostly spared destruction, despite lying in the frontline for over four months, in which over 4000 shells and rockets struck the city.
After World War II, Sittard expanded rapidly and many new neighbourhoods were built. The coal mines in the region were the driving force of a booming economy, until closed in the 1960s and 70s. It now has large industrial zones and office premises.
Main sights
Sittard has a small historic city centre with numerous architectural monuments, including several old churches (St Peter's, St Michael's, Basilica of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart), monasteries and a few half-timbered houses. The central market square has many restaurants and bars. The city has retained part of its
city wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
. On the south-eastern side of the city centre, the St Rosa chapel crowns the Kollenberg hill. Museum "Het Domein" is situated in a converted nineteenth century school building in the city centre. It focuses on contemporary art, urban history and archaeology. There is also a Commonwealth War Cemetery, where 239 soldiers of the
Commonwealth Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
lie buried. Among them
Dennis Donnini
Fusilier Dennis Donnini VC (17 November 1925 – 18 January 1945) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth force ...
, the youngest to have received the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
in World War II.
Economy
Sittard houses the
SABIC
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation ( ar, الشركة السعودية للصناعات الأساسية), known as SABIC ( ar, سابك), is a Saudi chemical manufacturing company. 70% of SABIC's shares are owned by Saudi Aramco. It is active in ...
European head office and a large
DSM
DSM or dsm may refer to:
Science and technology
* Deep space maneuver
* Design structure matrix or dependency structure matrix, a representation of a system or project
* Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
** DSM-5, the fifth ed ...
office; both companies having large chemical production facilities in nearby Geleen. The head office of the
plant hire
Equipment rental, also called plant hire in some countries (in the UK for instance), is a service industry providing machinery, equipment and tools of all kinds and sizes (from earthmoving to powered access, from power generation to hand-held ...
company
Boels Rental
Boels Rental is an equipment rental company based in Sittard, the Netherlands. Boels Rental has according to their website (January 2018) over 4000 employees and over 400 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Switzerland ...
is also located in Sittard.
Education
There are several schools for higher vocational education and training (
hbo
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
) in the city, including faculties of the
Hogeschool Zuyd
Zuyd University of Applied Sciences ( nl, Zuyd Hogeschool) is a University of Applied Sciences with campuses in Heerlen, Sittard and Maastricht in the southeastern Netherlands.
The main focus of Zuyd University is on Bachelor programmes, 52 in ...
secondary education
Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...
in Sittard are 'Trevianum Scholengroep' (
havo
''Hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs'' (havo, meaning "higher general continued education" in Dutch) is a stream in the secondary educational system of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Suriname. It has five grades and is generally attended at ...
vmbo Pre-vocational secondary education (, abbr. VMBO) is a school track in the Netherlands. It lasts four years, from the age of twelve to sixteen. It combines vocational training with theoretical education in languages, mathematics, history, arts
...
).
Sports
Sittard is the home of the professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club
Fortuna Sittard
Fortuna Sittard (; li, Fortuna Zitterd ) is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger ...
and of the handball club
Sittardia
HV Sittardia is a Dutch handball club in Sittard. The club was founded in 1949.
Sittardia is one of the most successful handball teams in Dutch handball history. They won the Dutch National Championship in 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, ...
.
The biggest
Kennedy march
A Kennedy march is a long-distance march of , named after former American president John F. Kennedy.
Origin
John F. Kennedy came into office with a goal of improving the health of the nation as part of his New Frontier policy program. As Presid ...
Eddy Beugels
Eddy Beugels (19 March 1944 – 12 January 2018) was a Dutch cyclist who won a silver medal in the team time trial at the 1966 UCI Road World Championships. He also won the Ronde van Noord-Holland (1966), Grand Prix de Wallonie (1968), Eschborn- ...
, cyclist
*
Rens Blom
Rens Blom (born 1 March 1977) is a Dutch retired Athletics (sport), athlete competing in pole vault.
Life
Blom was born in Munstergeleen. He achieved a vault of 5.75 as early as in 2000, but five years passed without much further progress. Howev ...
, athlete competing in pole vault
*
Mike van Diem
Mike van Diem (born 1959, in Druten, grew up in Sittard) is a Dutch film director.
In 1990, his short film ''Alaska'' won a Golden Calf for best short film and the Student Academy Award for best foreign student film in the drama category. In 19 ...
, film director
*
Willy Dullens
Willy Dullens is a former Dutch football player who played for RKSV Sittardia and the Netherlands national football team but his career was cut short due to injury. In 1966, uniquely while playing in the Eerste Divisie, he was chosen as the Dutc ...
, professional football player
*
Toon Hermans
Antoine Gerard Theodore "Toon" Hermans (17 December 1916 – 22 April 2000) was a noted Dutch comedian, singer and writer.
Toon Hermans was born in Sittard. He began performing in the 1930s, achieving local, regional and, eventually, natio ...
, comedian
*
Frederic Adolph Hoefer
Frederic Adolph Hoefer (14 April 1850 – 7 October 1938) was a Dutch lieutenant-general, militaria collector and archivist. He trained at the Koninklijke Militaire Academie and is notable for founding the Legermuseum and restoring Doorwerth Cas ...
, lieutenant-general
*
Wim Hof
Wim Hof (; born 20 April 1959), also known as The Iceman, is a Dutch motivational speaker and extreme athlete noted for his ability to withstand low temperatures. He previously held a Guinness World Record for swimming under ice and prolonged f ...
, ''The Iceman'', motivational speaker and extreme athlete
*
Leo Horn
Leopold Sylvain Horn (29 August 1916 – 16 September 1995) was a Dutch football referee.
Horn was born in Sittard, where he was a friend of entertainer Toon Hermans. The family moved to Amsterdam in 1928. Horn became a clerk with the textil ...
Mecanoo
Mecanoo is an architecture firm based in Delft, Netherlands. Mecanoo was founded in 1984 by Francine Houben, Henk Döll, Roelf Steenhuis, Erick van Egeraat and Chris de Weijer.
Foundation
Houben, Döll and Steenhuis won a competition to desig ...
Danny Nelissen
Daniel ("Danny") Wilhelmus Maria Nelissen (born 10 November 1970 in Sittard, Netherlands) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer and former sports commentator at Eurosport. He won the 1995 amateur world championship and was named ''D ...
, cyclist
*
Jan Nolten
Jan Nolten (20 January 1930 – 13 July 2014) was a Dutch professional road bicycle racer. Nolten participated in five Tours de France, and won two stages.
Death
Nolten was hospitalized in July 2014 after suffering a brain hemorrhage and ...
, cyclist
*
Jan Notermans Willem II may refer to:
People
*William II, Prince of Orange (1626–1650), stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands
*William II of the Netherlands (1792–1849), King of the Netherlands
Other uses
*Willem II (football club)
Wille ...
, professional football player
*
Rineke Dijkstra
Rineke Dijkstra HonFRPS (born 2 June 1959) is a Dutch photographer. She lives and works in Amsterdam.Huub Stevens, professional football player and manager
* Wilbert Suvrijn, professional football player
*
Arnold Vanderlyde
Arnold Petrus Maria Vanderlyde (born 24 January 1963) is a Dutch former amateur boxer, who participated in three Summer Olympics (1984, 1988 and 1992) and won three bronze medals in the heavyweight division (≤91 kg). He started boxing a ...
Novastar
Novastar is a Belgian rock band led by Dutch-born singer-songwriter and guitarist/pianist Joost Zweegers. They are known for their emotional ballads, and the high pitch of Zweegers's voice. Zweegers has also released solo material under the n ...
Sittard dialect
The Sittard dialect ( nl, Sittards, li, Zittesj, german: Selfkanter Platt, in reference to the variety used in Germany) is a Limburgish dialect spoken mainly in the Dutch city of Sittard. It is also spoken in Koningsbosch and in a small part of ...
is a particular variant of
Limburgish
Limburgish ( li, Limburgs or ; nl, Limburgs ; german: Limburgisch ; french: Limbourgeois ), also called Limburgan, Limburgian, or Limburgic, is a West Germanic language spoken in the Dutch and Belgian provinces of Limburg (Netherlands), L ...
.
Gallery
Image:Sittard Petruskerk Domein.jpg, St Peter's church, Sittard
File:SABIC office Sittard.jpg, SABIC office, Sittard
File:Park in Sittard 2006.JPG, Sittard city park
Image:Museum het domein.jpg, Museum Het Domein, Sittard
Image:Sittard-plaats-OpenTopo.jpg, Map of Sittard per March 2014 (readable after three clicks)
Image:Sittard Agnetenwal.jpg, Sittard city wall
Image:Station Sittard2.jpg, Sittard train station
File:Fields near Sittard.JPG, Nearby fields
Sister cities
*
Valjevo
Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the administrative area of Valjevo had 90,312 inhabitants, 59,073 of whom were urban dwell ...
Vansittart Vansittart is a surname of Dutch origin, derived from the city of Sittard in Limburg. Notable people with the surname include:
*Augustus Arthur Vansittart (1824–1882), English scholar
* Cyril Vansittart (1852–1887), English-Italian chess playe ...