Page 384 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - The Netherlands

382  SOUTHERN NE THERLANDS

q Hoensbroek
Road Map D6. * 25,500. £
n Bongerd 19, Heerlen (0900-
5559798). ( Fri am.
Before the state-run Emma
mine was opened here in
1908, Hoensbroek was a sleepy
farming town. It subsequently
grew into the centre of the
Dutch coal-mining industry. Its
industrial importance waned
with the closing of the mines.
Kasteel Hoensbroek was built
in the Middle Ages. All that
remains of the original castle
is the round corner-tower. The
wings and towers around the
rectangular inner courtyard date
from the 17th and 18th centuries.
The impressive medieval Kasteel Hoensbroek The castle is moated and today
functions as a cultural centre.
9 Thorn end of the 19th century by
renowned architect Pierre
Road Map D5. * 2,600. @ 72, 73, 76.
n Wijngaard 8 (0475-561085). Cuypers, who also added a
splendid Gothic tower. Clara
Southeast of Weert on the A2 Elisabeth van Manderscheidt-
is the little town of Thorn, Blankenheim, a canoness of the
which with its picturesque foundation, founded the Kapel
narrow streets and houses, van O-L-Vrouwe onder de
historical farm buildings and Linden (Chapel of Our Lady
monumental Abbey Church under the Linden) north of the
looks like an open-air museum. town in 1673.
For some 800 years, until 1794,
Thorn was the capital of an
autonomous secular foundation 0 Sittard Thermae at the Thermenmuseum
headed by an abbess. The Road Map D6. * 46,500. £
Wijngaard, the village square, is n Kitzraedhuis, Rosmolenstraat 2 w Heerlen
surrounded by whitewashed (0900-5559798). ( Thu am, Sat. Road Map D6. * 87,500. £
houses where the noble ladies n Bongerd 19 (0900-5559798).
of the foundation once lived. In the 13th century, Sittard was ( Tue, Thu am & Fri.
The 14th-century abbey church granted its town charter and
with its 18th-century interior built its defensive walls, of The Roman town of Coriovallum
was thoroughly restored at the which considerable sections has been discovered beneath
remain intact, including Fort Heerlen. The Thermenmuseum
Sanderbout. The Grote Kerk, or contains the foundations of
St Petruskerk, built around 1300, the ancient thermae and
is worth a visit. The 80-m (262-ft) many everyday items from
tower is built of layers of Roman times. Romanesque
alternating brick and limestone St Pancratiuskerk dates back
blocks, or “speklagen” (bacon to the 12th century. In the
layers). In the Markt is the 20th century, until 1974,
17th-century Baroque Heerlen was the centre of coal
St Michielskerk; Our Lady of mining in Limburg. FPJ Peutz
the Sacred Heart basilica stands built the town hall and Schunck
in the Oude Markt. The oldest department store (known as
house in Sittard is the half- the Glaspaleis, or crystal palace)
timber house built in 1530 on in the 1930s.
the corner of the Markt and the
Gats and containing the De E Thermenmuseum
Gats coffee house. The Jacob Coriovallumstraat 9. Tel 045-5605100.
Kritszraedthuis, a patrician Open 10am–5pm Tue–Fri, noon–5pm
house, was built in 1620 in Sat, Sun & public hols. Closed 1 Jan,
A whitewashed house in Thorn Maasland Renaissance style. Carnival, 24 & 25 Dec. & 8 =
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p401 and p415

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.4)
Date 25th April 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm