Simpelveld (; li, Zumpelveld ) is a

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

and a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

in the southeastern

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 is part of the municipal cooperative unit

Parkstad Limburg Parkstad Limburg (; Ripuarian and li, Parksjtad Limburg ) is a conurbation of eight municipalities in the southern part of the province of Limburg in the Netherlands. Consisting Heerlen, Kerkrade, Landgraaf, Brunssum, Simpelveld, Voerendaal, N ...

. Simpelveld is part of the ''Mergelland'', named after the presence of

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Cha ...

(mergel),

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

country popular with tourists. The

Mergellandroute The Mergellandroute ("marl land route") is a tourist route through South Limburg, Netherlands, mapped out by the ANWB. The Mergellandroute goes mostly through the local hills, which are in contrast with the lesser relief found in the rest of the ...

passes through the town. The population centre of Simpelveld has 28 national monuments, amongst which are the Oude Molen and the

Saint Remigius Church The Saint Remigius Church ( Dutch: ''Sint-Remigiuskerk'') is a Roman Catholic church building in Simpelveld, The Netherlands. It is a neoroman cross shaped church with three naves, a tower with a waisted top, and a round apse. It is completel ...

. Simpelveld has a

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

station and is the home base of the South Limburg Railway Company. On one weekend in October there is a Day out with Thomas from the children's television series

Thomas and Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

Population centres

Bocholtz Bocholtz (; Ripuarian: is a town in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is a part of the municipality of Simpelveld, and lies about 7 km southwest of Kerkrade. Until 1982, it was a separate municipality. History Bocholtz dates back to ...

*Simpelveld Besides these official centres there are other hamlets which fall under the

Religion

The municipality has two churches within its borders: *

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 ...

in Simpelveld The city also has two monasteries, these are * the Loreto monastery and * Huize Damiaan, which has been home to The International Butler Academy since 2015.

Regional language

Simpelveld is part of The Netherlands and therefore the official language is Dutch. A lot of people also speak Simpelvelds, a

regional language * A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Lan ...

that depending on the definition belongs to Ripuarian or

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 and in the neig ...

. It is also referred to as

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 ...

Notable people

Step Vaessen Stephanie "Step" Vaessen (born 11 February 1965) is a Dutch broadcast journalist, currently working as a Berlin correspondent for Al Jazeera English. Early life Vaessen is of Dutch origin and was born in Simpelveld in the province of Limburg, ...

(born 1965) a Dutch broadcast journalist, currently working as a Moscow correspondent for Al Jazeera English *

Ralph Hamers Ralph Adrianus Joseph Gerardus Hamers (born 25 May 1966) is a Dutch businessman who is the UBS Group CEO. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Dutch bank ING Group from October 2013 until June 2020. Early life Ralph Hamers was born on 25 ...

(born 1966) a Dutch businessman, the chief executive officer (CEO) of

UBS Group UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...

Jolanda Jetten Petronella Antonia Gerarda "Jolanda" Jetten (born 19 April 1970, Simpelveld)P.A.G. Jetten, 1970
at the Universit ...

(born 1970, Simpelveld) a Dutch social psychologist and academic

Gallery

File:Simpelveld, de Sint-Remigiuskerk RM33584 foto8 2016-07-10 16.38.jpg,

File:Station Simpelveld 29-08-2018 10-10-05.jpg, Station Simpelveld File:Baanheiwkped08.JPG, Limburgs, De Boanhei File:Simpelveld, aerial view.JPG, Aerial view of Simpelveld

References

External links

* * Municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands) South Limburg (Netherlands) {{LimburgNL-geo-stub