Echt (; ) is a city in the Dutch

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

Echt-Susteren Echt-Susteren (; li, Ech-Zöstere ) is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. Echt-Susteren was created in 2003 by merging the former municipalities of Echt and Susteren. Echt-Susteren is situated in a Euregional area. In the west the mu ...

in the province of Limburg,

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 ...

. It was a municipality itself until it merged with the municipality of

Susteren Susteren (; li, Zöstere ) is a city in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Echt-Susteren, about 7 km northwest of Sittard. It was a separate municipality until 2003, when it was merged with Echt. Susteren r ...

on 1 January 2003. The municipality of Echt had about 19,300 inhabitants and an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved 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 op ...

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 Belgian province of Limburg. It was named after the original seat of its count, Loon, which is today called Borgloon. During the middle a ...

. Between 928 and 939 Gerberga of Saxony gave the estate of "Ettha" and its church to the St Servatius community in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

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

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Na ...

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 (german: Heinrich 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 ...

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 ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...

("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. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...

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 (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the 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 town rights in 1231. Ro ...

. Nevertheless, it had a wall with gates, a hospital and cloth hall. A city

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

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 ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fro ...

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

Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...

, 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 ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...

, 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 notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, even by its own aldermen. At the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of 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 vacant throne ...

, ending the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

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

Venlo Venlo () is a city and municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg, about 50 km east of the city of Eindhoven, 65 km north east of the provincial capital Maastricht, a ...

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

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

, and partitioned between the départements of Roer and

Meuse-Inférieure Meuse-Inférieure ( "Lower Meuse"; ; ) was a department of the French First Republic and French First Empire in present-day Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. It was named after the river Meuse. Its territory corresponded largely with the present- ...

Sights

* Sint Landricuskerk, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

. * Lilbosch Abbey ( nl, Abdij Lilbosch) a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

of the

Trappists The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

. * Carmelite Monastery, founded 1879, known for

Edith Stein Edith Stein (religious name Saint Teresia Benedicta a Cruce ; also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross or Saint Edith Stein; 12 October 1891 – 9 August 1942) was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a D ...

* 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 A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...

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 (Dutch and Limburgish: , , ), named after Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, is a 36 km long canal in the southern Netherlands, providing a bypass of an unnavigable section of the river Meuse between Maastricht and Maasbr ...

. To the east, the hamlets of Schilberg and Hingen and the church village of Pey are attached to Echt. Other nearby hamlets include

Gebroek Gebroek () is a hamlet in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is a part of the municipality of Echt-Susteren, and lies about 11 km north of Sittard. The hamlet was first mentioned around 1700 as Broich, and means "swampy land". Gebroek wa ...

, 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 Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; ; en, "Dutch Railways") is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the European Union, and the ...

(''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 Adrian van Hooydonk (born 21 June 1964 in Echt, Limburg), is a Dutch automobile designer and BMW Group's Design Director. He is based in Munich, Germany. Biography He studied at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, where he ...

(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 Ria Oomen-Ruijten (born 6 September 1950 in Echt, Limburg) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) who has been serving as a member of the Senate since 9 June 2015. Oomen is a former Member of the European Parliament. A ...

(born 1950) a Dutch politician * Ben Scheres (born 1960) a Dutch developmental biologist *

Laurence Stassen Laurence Jeanne Arnoldine Joseph Stassen (born 8 February 1971, in Sittard) is an independent Dutch politician and a former freelance television presenter of the regional broadcasting TV Limburg. There she presented the program sponsored ''Limburg ...

(born 1971) a Dutch politician *

(1891–1942) a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Catholicism and became a nun *

Sef Vergoossen Josephus Gerardus Dominicus "Sef" Vergoossen (, born 5 August 1947 in Echt) is a former Dutch football manager. Biography Vergoossen began his managerial career in 1978 with VVV-Venlo, managing the club for 12 years until 1989, after which he ma ...

(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