Montfort () is a small city in the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

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 ...

. Montfort has about 3,000 inhabitants. It lies about 8 km south of

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 ...

. It received

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 ...

in 1271 and is renowned for the ruins of Castle Montfort, built in the 13th century. Until 1991, Montfort was a separate municipality. It then became part of

Posterholt Posterholt is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Roerdalen. History The village was first mentioned in 1147 as Posterholt. The etymology is unclear. Posterholt is a linear forest cultivation villa ...

, which was later renamed

Ambt Montfort Ambt Montfort () is a former Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. In 1991, the municipalities of Montfort (Limburg), Montfort, Posterholt, Reutje and Sint Odiliënb ...

.Ad van der Meer and Onno Boonstra, "Repertorium van Nederlandse gemeenten", KNAW, 2006
Knaw.nl
Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (KNAW), Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Since 1 January 2007, Montfort has been part of the municipality of

Roerdalen Roerdalen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. As of , it had about inhabitants and borders Germany. Roerdalen is the renaming of the munic ...

Places of interest

* The ruin of

Castle Montfort A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

. This castle was built around 1260 by

Hendrik III of Gelre Hendrik may refer to: People * Hendrik (given name) * Hans Hendrik (1832–1889), Greenlandic Arctic traveller and interpreter * Tony Hendrik (born 1945), German music producer and composer Others * Hendrik Island, an island in Greenland * Hendrik ...

. For centuries it was the governmental centre of

. * The presbytery of Montfort is also one of Montfort's historic buildings. * The

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

s and

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

s on the cemetery. Most of the victims of the bombardments of Montfort at the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

are buried here. The number of victims was high because at the time Montfort was a regional refugee sanctuary with 6 times its current population. * The historical centre of Montfort. Most of the buildings in this part of the town are from the late 1950s because most of the original buildings were destroyed during the

. File:Ruine kasteel Montfort Limburg.jpg, The ruin of

File:Montfort (Roerdalen) Rijksmonument 47063 pastorie.JPG, presbytery of Montfort File:Montfort (Limburg) massagraf.JPG, The

s on the cemetery in Montfort File:Montfort (Roerdalen) sculpture de Sjiëper, by Henk Sillen, 1989.JPG, Sculpture of "Sjieëper" (Shepherd), by

Henk Sillen Henk is a Dutch male given name, originally a short form of Hendrik. It influenced " Hank" which is used in English-speaking countries (mainly in the US) as a form of "Henry". Academics *Henk Aertsen (born 1943), Dutch Anglo-Saxon linguist *Hen ...

Landscape

* Montfort is surrounded by forests, such as 't Sweeltje, Munichsbosch, Roozendaal and Reigershorst.

Notable people

Jos Verstappen Johannes Franciscus "Jos" Verstappen (; born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch racing and rally driver, who competes in the European Rally Championship as a privateer. Verstappen competed in Formula One between and . Born and raised in Dutch Limburg, ...

(Racing and rally driver)

References

External links

Roerdalen
Former municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands) Roerdalen {{LimburgNL-geo-stub