Gulpen-Wittem (; li, Gullepe-Wittem ) is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands (in the province of Limburg) with inhabitants as of . Gulpen-Wittem came into being after the merger of the municipalities Gulpen and

Wittem Wittem (, ) is a small village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Gulpen-Wittem. History The village was first mentioned in 1125 as Witham, and means "means silted land in a bend in a waterway". Wittem develo ...

. This took place after a request of both municipalities. At the time of the merger, both municipalities had about 8000 inhabitants, although Wittem was bigger than Gulpen. The town hall was situated in Gulpen, and has kept its function as town hall in the new municipality. The former town hall of Wittem was situated in a manor house in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

since 1986, which is now being used as a "nursing hostel". The municipality is rural, with many castles, half-timbered houses and old monumental farms. Yearly, Gulpen-Wittem attracts many tourists from the entire country because of its relatively sloping landscape, especially during the summer.

Population centres

Topography

''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Gulpen-Wittem, June 2015''

Economy

Apart from beer brewing (" Gulpener" (at Gulpen) and " Brand" (at Wijlre)), vinegar production ("Gulpener") and agriculture, tourism is essential aspect of economical activity in this municipality. Especially Slenaken is a distinct tourist site.

Notable people

Jan Gerard Kemmerling Jan Gerard Kemmerling (February 4, 1776 in Gulpen – January 15, 1818 in Heerlen) was mayor of Heerlen and Nieuwenhagen. When the French arrived in Heerlen in 1795, Kemmerling sympathized with their ideas of Enlightenment and revolution. He becam ...

(1776 in Gulpen – 1818) Mayor of Heerlen and Nieuwenhagen *

Adolphe Engers Adolphe Engers (1884–1945) was a Dutch writer and actor on stage and in the movies, who appeared in more than fifty films during his career, a number of them in Weimar Germany. Biography Before his career in film, he was an actor on the stage a ...

(1884 in Gulpen – 1945) a Dutch writer and stage and film actor IMDb Database
retrieved 20 October 2019 * Martinus Cobbenhagen (1893 in Gulpen - 1954) a Dutch Roman Catholic priest, economist and academic * Antoon Coolen (1897 in Wijlre - 1961) a Dutch writer of novels *

René van der Linden Pierre René Hubert Marie van der Linden (born 14 December 1943) is a retired Dutch politician and diplomat of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and later the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and economist. Van der Linden applied at the ...

(born 1943 in Eys) a retired Dutch politician, diplomat and economist * Sjef Hensgens (born 1948 in Wijlre) a retired Dutch middle-distance runner, competed at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

* Henk Savelberg (born 1953 in Mechelen) a Dutch head chef *

Ralf Vandebergh Ralf Vandebergh (born 1976) is a Dutch astronomer, professional photographer and veteran satellite spotter from Nijswiller. He is known for photographing the Sun, Moon, planets, satellites, NASA Space Shuttles, and the International Space Station ...

(born 1976 in Nijswiller) a Dutch astronomer and professional photographer

Gallery

File:Gulp-Slenaken.jpg, The river Gulp near Slenaken File:Hill landscape Slenaken 2.jpg, Hilly landscape near Slenaken File:Strolling along the countryside - panoramio.jpg, Countryside panorama File:De ontmoeting-Kunstroute Gulpen.jpg, Kunstroute Gulpen

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control South Limburg (Netherlands) Municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) Municipalities of the Netherlands established in 1999