Bocholtz (; Ripuarian: is a town in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

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 ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

Simpelveld Simpelveld (; li, Zumpelveld ) is a municipality and a town in the southeastern Netherlands. It is part of the municipal cooperative unit Parkstad Limburg. Simpelveld is part of the ''Mergelland'', named after the presence of chalk (mergel), hi ...

, and lies about 7 km southwest of

Kerkrade Kerkrade ( Ripuarian: ; li, Kirkraoj; german: Kerkrade or ''Kirchrath'') is a town and a municipality in the southeast of Limburg; the southernmost province of the Netherlands. It forms part of the Parkstad Limburg agglomeration. Kerkrade is the ...

. Until 1982, it was a separate municipality.

History

Bocholtz dates back to the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

era. A Roman

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

was found in the Vlengendaal, a street of Bocholtz, in 1911. A farmer plowing his land found a Roman

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

in October 2003.

Architecture and buildings

Castle De Bongard

The Castle De Bongard dates from the 16th century. The current building only represents 1/4 of the original building. The rest was destroyed during the invasion by the French during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Hoeve Overhuizen

Hoeve Overhuizen is a fortified farm with roots dating back as far as the 13th century. From 2015

Rabobank Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...

moves in after redecorating the interior of the building to make it their regional headquarters.

Church

The

James the Greater Church The James the Greater Church (Dutch: ''Jacobus de Meerderekerk'') is a Roman Catholic church, located on the Pastoor Neujeanstraat 6 in Bocholtz, Netherlands. First mentioned in the 14th century, the current church was built in 1869 by Pierre Cuype ...

was built between 1869 and 1873 by architect

Pierre Cuypers Petrus Josephus Hubertus "Pierre" Cuypers (16 May 1827 – 3 March 1921) was a Dutch architect. His name is most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station (1881–1889) and the Rijksmuseum (1876–1885), both in Amsterdam. ...

. Construction workers expanding the church in 1953 found the remains of a building from the late medieval period on the same site. The patron saint of the church is St. James, son of Zebedee.

Regional language

Bocholtz is part of the Netherlands and therefore the official language is Dutch. A lot of people also speak Bocholtzer, a

Southeast Limburgish Southeast Limburgish (Dutch: ''Zuidoost-Limburgs'', Ripuarian: ''Süüdoß-Limburjesch''), also referred to as Southern Meuse-Rhenish, is a subdivision of what recently has been named Meuse-Rhenish. Both terms denote a rather compact grouping of ...

dialect that is linguistically Ripuarian but commonly perceived as a

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 ...

dialect.

Gallery

Image:Kasteel de bongard bocholtz.jpg, Castle De Bongard, Bocholtz File:Bocholtz-kombord (2).jpg, Bocholt in winter File:Bocholtz-Romeinse villa Bocholtz-Vlengendaal-Orsbacherweg (1).jpg, Location of the Roman villa Vlengendaal File:Bocholtz-Oude gemeentehuis.JPG, Former town hall

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands) Former municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) Simpelveld