Brunssum
 flag |
 coat of arms |
| province |
.svg){kind=small} Limburg
|
| mayor | Wilma van der Rijt ( CDA ) |
| Seat of the municipality | Brunssum |
|
Area - land - water |
17.34 km 2 17.21 km 2 0.13 km 2 |
| CBS code | 0899 |
| Residents | 28,064 (Jan 31, 2019) |
| Population density | 1618 inhabitants / km 2 |
| Coordinates | 50 ° 57 ' N , 5 ° 58' E |
| Important traffic route |
   
|
| prefix | 045 |
| Postcodes | 6441-6446 |
| Website | Homepage of Brunssum |
 |
|
Brunssum ( ) is a Dutch municipality and city in the province of Limburg . According to the CBS, it had 28,064 inhabitants on January 31, 2019 . It used to be important as a mining community, but today it is primarily known as the location of an important NATO base. The city emerged from various centers such as Brunssum-Altstadt, Rumpen, Treebeek and De Kling.
geography
Brunssum is located in the transition zone between the Northwest European Plain and the Rhenish Slate Mountains. The relief is slightly hilly and was created as a result of the erosion of parts of the existing layers of earth, the uppermost of which mostly date from the late Tertiary and mostly form sand or loess clay layers. The natural vegetation consists of Atlantic heather, especially on sandy soils, and of deciduous forest in the area of loess soils , which have almost completely given way to agricultural use. Most of the heather areas, which are largely protected, are located in the south and west of Brussum.
The climate is oceanic , humid and temperate.
In the west of Brunssum, the Rodebeek , which is partially canalized or sealed in the urban area, flows from south to north, which rises south of Brunssum in the area of the neighboring municipality of Landgraaf in the area of the Brunssumer Heide, from there flows northwards and the eastern industrial areas Hendrik and Bouwberg separates from the rest of the city. The stream runs through the Schutterspark , a local recreation area and former open-cast lignite mine in the Schuttersveld district . The stream then passes the De Egge and Oeloven settlements on the west bank, and finally to the west of the district that bears the name of the river, it reaches the neighboring community of Schinveld. Later the stream flows into the Geleenbeek , which is in turn a tributary of the Meuse .
Neighboring communities
| Beekdaelen | Onderbanks | Gangelt (D) |
| Heerlen (district of Hoensbroek ) |
|
Geilenkirchen-Teveren (D) |
| Heerlen | Heerlen ; Landgraaf | Landgraaf |
geology
The geological condition of the subsoil in the urban area of Brunssum particularly favored the development of the place into a mining and industrial city, especially in the 20th century, since hard coal, brown coal and quartz sand occur in minable deposits and have been developed since the early 20th century .
Sedimentary cover
The uppermost geological layer consists essentially of tertiary and quaternary sediments (sand, clay), partly deposited here by the prehistoric rivers Rhine and Maas , and partly separated from the wind as periglacial, aeolian deposits (loess). In large parts of the urban area, the surface has been shaped by humans , primarily through mining and later recultivation . Especially in the area of the former state miner Hendrik and the Teverener Heide and Brunssumer Heide, large areas have been shaped by excavation and dumping.
Between sand, gravel and clay, in the sediment layers north of the Feldbiss fault, there are also brown coal seams, which were also dug up in phases. In addition, there are various types of sand and clay , which was previously mainly used for brick production, but which was used in prehistoric times for pottery and storage vessels by the culture of the band ceramics .
Basement
Beneath the sedimentary cover there are limestone and marl layers from the Cretaceous period , plunging northwards into ever greater depths, followed by layers of schisto rock from the Carboniferous Age. These lead a number of significant coal seams, many of them with a thickness of over one and in some cases over two meters, which is definitely worth mining. The most important seams consist predominantly of gas-rich gas, flame and fat coals. The coal seams lie at depths of over 100 to 900 meters. The lignite seams, on the other hand, are located in the layers of the Tertiary and therefore mostly very close to the surface. The same applies to the quartz sand deposits.
tectonics
Brunssum is traversed from southeast to northwest by a significant geological fault, the so-called Feldbiss . This fault is still tectonically active. In addition, at the time of mining, the fault line was a significant obstacle to hard coal mining. Lignite is mainly found north and northwest of this line. The Feldbiss is one of the main fault lines between the North German Plain or the Lower Rhine Bay and the Rhenish Slate Mountains or the Eifel. It is the southern main fault line of the Rurgraben.
history
There are indications of a prehistoric settlement of the region around Brunssum as it was also proven for the neighboring places Heerlen and Landgraaf . Little is known about this, however. Ancient and medieval mentions or finds suggest a largely uninterrupted settlement of the urban area of Brunssum for around 2000 years.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, Brunssum was a small town whose inhabitants lived mainly from agriculture. After the establishment of the state mines in this part of the Netherlands, the population grew very rapidly due to the immigration of people from the rest of the Netherlands and guest workers from southern Europe and North Africa. For Brunssum, the Hendrik colliery in particular, which produced the largest amount of all Dutch mines, was the linchpin of all urban development since the First World War . The state minister Emma in Hoensbroek was located in the border area between today's Brunssum and today's Heerlen near Treebeek and also influenced the development of Brunssum. Today, on the site of the former Emma pit, there is an immense new building area with shops, housing estates, parks, business parks and traffic routes - a completely new district of the latest generation of Dutch housing and urban development. The terrain of the Hendrik colliery, on the other hand, has mainly been re-used by a NATO headquarters ( AFNORTH ).
politics
College of Mayors and Aldermen
The coalition for the 2018–2022 legislative period consists of the local parties Brunssumse Christen Democrats, Burger Belangen Brunssum Lijst Palmen, Lijst Borger and Progressief Akkoord. The coalition parties each provide one councilor to the college , while the Progressief Akkoord party adds two councilors. The following people belong to the college and are responsible in the following areas:
| function | Surname | Political party | Department | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayoress | Wilma van der Rijt | CDA | general matters, population / civil status, fire brigade, enforcement and surveillance, public order and security, education and communication, internal affairs, personnel and organization, regional and (inter) national matters, integrity policy, permits, individual processing of wastewater | in office since March 11, 2020 |
| Alderman | Jo palms | Burger concerns Brunssum Lijst Palmen | Alderman for the Centrum district, Oostflank project including basic problems, housing, spatial planning, public work including traffic, basic problems, properties, monuments policy, master plan Centrum, garbage, master plan Treebeek, environment (soil maintenance and asbestos) | first deputy mayor |
| Servie L'Espoir | Progressive accord | Alderman for the Zuid district, municipal health department, health care, youth work, disability policy, voluntary work, poverty policy, debt counseling, credit bank, child care, crèche, social welfare law, coordination of social competence areas, labor market policy, employer service point, law for social welfare work | second deputy mayor | |
| Carolus de Rijck | Brunssumse Christians Democrats | Alderman for the district of Noord, customer recruitment, economic affairs, business and job opportunities, Alsdorf, community houses, information management, market, fair, music school, recreation and tourism, playgrounds and public play facilities, sports and events, library | third deputy mayor | |
| Hugo Janssen | Lijst Borger | Alderman for the West District, coordination of the district-specific work, naturalization, anti-discrimination, functional illiteracy, better neighbors, social affairs, clubs, culture (including parade), youth | fourth deputy mayor | |
| Math Houben | Progressive accord | Alderman for the district of Oost, sustainability and environmental policy, finances, educational backlog policy, Masterplan Treekbeek, Masterplan Centrum, education including schools, Schutterspark | fifth deputy mayor | |
| Community Secretary | Ellen Dielissen | - | - | in office since January 2014 |
Distribution of seats in the municipal council
The municipal council has been formed as follows since 1981:
| Political party | Seats | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 a | 1986 | 1990 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | |
| Burger concerns Brunssum Lijst Palmen | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4th | 5 |
| Progressive accord | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4th | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4th |
| VVD | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4th | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Brunssumse Christians Democrats | - | - | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| SP | - | - | 0 | - | 2 | 2 | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| Lijst Borger | 7th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 4th | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| PvdA | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6th | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| CDA | 8th | 6th | 4th | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Lijst Huisman-Peeters | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | - |
| D66 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 0 | - |
| 1Parkstad.nl | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | - |
| Trots op Nederland | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - |
| Brunssum 2000 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| Waakzaam Brunssum | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| Center Democrats | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Concern Brunssum | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Lijst-Horselenberg | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Lijst voor de Burger | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| CPN | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Lijst-van der Zee | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| total | 23 | 21st | 21st | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21st | 21st | 21st | 21st |
Economy and Infrastructure
After the economy of Brunssum was dominated by agriculture until the First World War and trade and handicrafts were only practiced on a smaller scale, the picture changed fundamentally with the start of mining. Just as fundamentally, during the Herstruktureering , i.e. the structural change after the end of hard coal mining, the economic structure shifted towards a modern service location.
Mining
Brunssum has been particularly shaped by mining , especially hard coal mining . The largely preserved miners' settlements give Brunssum its characteristic appearance. In addition to hard coal mining, lignite mining and the extraction of stones and earth, especially quartz sand , also played an important role. In some cases, former open-cast mine holes are being used as rubbish dumps and are then covered and sealed. The digester gas that is produced (landfill gas with over 50% methane) is collected and used to generate energy in combined heat and power plants (CHP).
Hard coal
In the first half of the 20th century, the region around Kerkrade , Heerlen , Hoensbroek , Brunssum, Eygelshoven and Schaesberg became the center of Dutch coal mining. The region was also called "Oostelijke Mijnstreek" (there was also a "Westelijke Mijnstreek", which was formed by the municipalities of Beek , Schinnen , Stein and the then independent municipality of Geleen ).
After the Dutch state came into possession of a number of mining concessions for the Hendrik field, among others, and after the increased energy demand (including the First World War) there was a bottleneck in the Dutch energy supply, domestic mining was intensified. In order to develop the Hendrik field in the north of the Brunssumer Heide, the state miner Hendrik started to sink the first two shafts in 1913 . In 1917 the colliery produced the first coal.
Three shafts (numbers I, II and IV) were built on the extensive mining area in the north of the Brunssumer Heide or in the south of Brunssum in the Rumpen district . Shaft III, which was primarily used as a weather shaft, was located a few kilometers southeast of the town of Nieuwenhagen , which is now part of the municipality of Landgraaf . Shaft IV reached the greatest depth of all Dutch mines in 1959 at 1058 meters . Even before the Second World War , soles were laid at 700 meters and 855 meters . At Staatsmijn Hendrik, the miners mainly extracted gas-rich coal , from which coke was obtained. Escaping mine gas, temporary technical defects and human negligence meant that Hendrik had the most accidents of all Dutch mines. The most serious of these occurred in March 1947 and claimed 13 lives.
In 1963 the state miner Emma and the state minister Hendrik merged , whereby the composite mine was called Emma-Hendrik. Hard coal mining ended in Brunssum ten years later. After the colliery was closed (see also Zechensterben ), the facilities were gradually demolished and the site was converted , and the NATO base was built there, which was to become the most important new employer.
Brown coal
In the area of the city of Brunssum there were several open-cast mines in which some brown coal was extracted, some sand, gravel and clay. The main focus of lignite mining was in the period between the two world wars and in the 1950s. The Vijverpark in the center of the village is a relic of a former open-cast mine . Here a seam lying directly below the surface of the earth was mined. After the shutdown, the hole partially filled with water. The resulting lake is now the center of a park, which is named after the water Vijverpark (Eng. Weiherpark). Lignite was also extracted in the east of the city near Schuttersveld and a park with a water surface was created here instead of the former pit. An important factor in favor of the development of lignite mining in the Brunssum area was the skyrocketing national demand for domestic primary energy resources due to the lack of imports from England and Germany. Bergerode, Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Mineralen was founded in Brunssum as early as 1911 . The Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Bruinkoolvelden Carisborg zu Heerlen was also active near Brunssum and was the most important company in lignite mining in the Netherlands. It was created on September 22, 1917.
Stones and earth
Both on the edge of the Brunssumer Heide and in the area of the former spoil heaps, the building materials industry is still extracting sand and gravel. Large parts of the former mining areas are today under nature protection or overgrown. As Teverener Heide (in Germany) and Brunssumerheide (Netherlands) these are attractive local recreation areas for the population of the surrounding metropolitan areas on both sides of the border.
Trade, commerce and industry
In addition to the inner-city retail and service offerings, there are three industrial areas in the city: Hendrik and Bouwberg in the east and the industrial area on Emmaweg in the Treebeek district in the south-west of the city.
Transport and logistics
With the national roads N 276 in the direction of Sittard-Geleen, the N 247 to Roermond and the N 299 via Landgraaf and Kerkrade to Herzogenrath, Brunssum has a connection to the trunk road network. With the Akerstraat (from the district Rumpen to Heerlen), the Emmaweg and the Akerstraat-Noord (from the district Treebeek via Hoensbroek and Heerlerheide to Heerlen) as well as the N 298 (via Hoensbroek and Nuth to Valkenburg ) as well as the Grenzweg (direction Gangelt (D) ), the Rimburgerweg (to Ubach over Worms and Übach-Palenberg (D)).
Public facilities
Brunssum mainly has the typical public facilities of a medium-sized center, including a hospital, various schools, old people's homes, kindergartens, municipal administration and the like.
Healthcare
The health system in Brunssum (and the rest of Parkstad Limburg ) is supported by a foundation, the Stichting Gezondheidszorg Oostelijk Zuid-Limburg (GOZL), a public-law sponsoring community. The Atrium Medisch Centrum Parkstad (Atrium Medical Center Parkstad) is the name of the different hospitals in Parkstad. Atrium is part of the Stichting Gezondheidszorg Oostelijk Zuid-Limburg, as are the hospitals in Heerlen and Kerkrade. The founders of all hospitals were the same Messrs. De Wever and Savelsberg .
NATO
Furthermore, the Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum of NATO is located in this municipality, directly on the German-Dutch border . It is located on the site of the former Hendrik colliery. Originally, parts of the colliery's underground facilities were also intended to be used as nuclear bunkers, but this was (apparently) not done. The former Allied Forces Northern Region HQ (AFNORTH) was restructured to JFC HQ Brunssum in mid-2004 as part of the adoption of a new NATO command structure. The soldiers and civilian employees from many NATO countries shape the cityscape of Brunssum today. Since the end of mining, the NATO base has become the most important economic factor in the city. Nevertheless, in Brunssum and in the neighboring municipality of Schinveld, a citizens' movement against aircraft noise from the AWACS early warning planes from the NATO air force base in Teveren (Germany) has arisen, which, supported by environmentalists and pacifists, has brought legal action against NATO. The city is also the seat of the Bundeswehr administrative center for the Netherlands.
education
There is an international school in the community, the AFNorth International School (AIS) of the NATO base with British, German, Canadian and US departments. The individual departments conduct lessons for members of staff and soldiers in the NATO service in accordance with the relevant state school law. The common accommodation promotes multilingual lessons as well as joint cultural and sporting events. The name of the school as AFCENT International School was not changed when the headquarters were renamed in 2004.
The nearest university of applied sciences is in the neighboring town of Heerlen and also in Sittard-Geleen ( Hogeschool Zuyd ). The nearest universities are in Maastricht (University) and Aachen ( Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule ).
Culture
The cultural offerings of Brunssum is overshadowed by the neighboring places, which are either natural, architectural-historical or more important with regard to the general cultural offer. At the same time, Brunssum also shows a number of facets in this regard. The NATO base in particular, with its employees and soldiers from many nations, is an important source of cultural activities in Brunssum.
theatre
There is no theater in Brunssum. However, there is an ensemble consisting essentially of lay people (mostly employees and soldiers of the NATO base) , which occasionally appears in public.
music
There are symphonic wind orchestras and choirs in Brunssum and the surrounding area. The pop group Pussycat , which celebrated its greatest successes in the seventies, and their lead singer Toni Willè, who is also known as a solo artist, come from Brunssum.
Buildings
In the municipality of Brunssum there are remarkable buildings from the 20th century, including completely preserved mining settlements typical of the region. The former miners' quarters such as Egge , Rozengaard , Langenberg , Schuttersveld and Treebeek , which were mainly built according to the principle of the garden city and have retained their very own character to the present day, are of particular importance in terms of social and architectural history stand.
In the old center of the community there is an example of the New Objectivity , the building of the Green Cross from the 1930s. In the center of Rumpen you will find the church of St. Vincentius à Paolo, the first church by the renowned Dutch architect Fritz Peutz . In the northeast of the municipality are the remains of the castle or Kasteel Op Genhoes , one of the many late medieval and early modern complexes of this type in the region.
Parks
- Vijverpark : In the immediate vicinity of the city center, a park has been created around the name of the pond (nl. Vijver ) from the remains of a former lignite mine . It is used for local recreation.
- Schutterspark : Also emerged from a former open-cast mine on the banks of the Rodebeek, the Schutterspark and the adjacent forest and green areas accompany the Rodebeek stream as a recreational area and thus separate the industrial areas in the east of Brunssum from the residential areas.
- Brunssumerheide : The Brunssumerheide with typical Atlantic heather vegetation is partly under nature protection and serves as a local recreation area, at the access of which there are a number of parking spaces. A golf course with 18 holes on the Rimburgerweg as well as the Koffiepool (a pond), an outdoor swimming pool and a campsite complete the tourist offer.
Events and events
Parelloop
The Parelloop is held every year in and around Brunssum . This is an obstacle race that hundreds of athletes take part in every year. The participants come from all parts of the Netherlands as well as from abroad.
International folk parade
Every four years a parade with various national, international and regional folklore groups and associations is held in Brunssum. For a few days, Brunssum is all about performances, concerts, workshops and games. The first parade was held in 1953. It was intended to commemorate the victims of the catastrophic storm surge that year. The tradition has been continued since then, but the frequency of the events changed.
Parade Brunssum 2012
Parade Brunssum 2012
Parade Brunssum 2012
Parade Brunssum 2012
Parade Brunssum 2012
Parade Brunssum 2012
Parade Brunssum 2012
Parade Brunssum 2012
Parade Brunssum 2012
Fun fair and Oktoberfest
There is a fair in Brunssum in spring and autumn. Since 2004 there has also been an Oktoberfest in Brunssum.
Town twinning
Brunssum cooperates with the following foreign cities and municipalities in the form of city partnerships:
Personalities
sons and daughters of the town
- Martin Linnartz (1929–2012), painter; Linnartz gained notoriety when an exhibition of his works in 1974 in his native Brunssum including around 50 works by the painter and the exhibition building went up in flames.
- Heinz Friesen (* 1934), conductor
- Patrick Dybiona (born September 12, 1963), swimmer
- Kevin Hofland (born June 7, 1979), footballer; Professional in the Eredivisie ( honor division ) and the Bundesliga
- Kevin Hellenbrand (born February 14, 1985), member of the music band Ch! Pz
- the sisters Kowalczyk ( Toni , Betty and Marianne ), who later became famous under their band name Pussycat .
- Toni Willé, one of the singers in Pussycat, known today as a solo artist by her name
Personalities who lived or worked in Brunssum
- Frederik Karel Theodoor van Iterson , (* March 12, 1877 in Roermond , † December 11, 1957 in 's-Gravenhage ), director of the state mining company, who u. a. was largely responsible for the construction of the surface facilities on Staatsmijn Hendrik and constructed some of the first pioneering concrete headframes in mining.
gallery
View of the Brunssummerheide
Brunssumerheide in September
One of the entrances to the Brunssummerheide in the south of Brunssum
Sand area in the middle of the Brunssummerheide
Bog and swamp areas in the Brunssummerheide
The new town hall of the municipality of Brunssum
Web links
- Website of the municipality of Brunssum (Dutch)
- Traffic planning and road construction in South Limburg (Dutch)
- Homepage of the NATO headquarters in Brunssum (English)
- Homepage of the German department of AIS (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Nieuwe burgemeester in Brunssum. In: rijksoverheid.nl. Rijksoverheid, January 24, 2020, accessed March 12, 2020 (Dutch).
- ↑ Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand . In: StatLine . Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (Dutch)
- ↑ a b Staatsmijn Hendrik ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. TU Delft ( English )
- ^ W. Moonen: Brunssum de eeuwen door. Brunssum 1952, passim.
- ^ Geertjan Claessens: Nieuwe coalitie Brunssum: vijf wethouders. In: De Limburger . Media groep Limburg, May 26, 2018, accessed on July 27, 2018 (Dutch).
- ↑ Samenstelling college Gemeente Brunssum, accessed on July 27, 2018 (Dutch)
- ↑ Result of the local elections: 2014 2018 , accessed on July 27, 2018 (Dutch)
- ↑ Allocation of seats in the municipal council: 1981–2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 , accessed on July 27, 2018 (Dutch)
- ↑ I mmer new damage: Mining seek the Parkstad . aachener-zeitung.de, December 12, 2012
- ↑ a b Staatsmijn Hendrik 1915 - 1963 ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) demijnstreek.net ( Dutch )
- ↑ Mijnramp Hendrik, 65 jaar geleden herdacht De Mijnen.nl ( Dutch )
- ^ Stichting Gezondheidszorg Oostelijk Zuid-Limburg
- ↑ Allied Joint Forces Command Headquarters NATO Headquarters Brunssum (English)
- ↑ Bundeswehr administrative offices abroad at www.iud.bundeswehr.de
- ↑ afnorth-is.com International School
- ↑ kunst.per.nl ( Memento from 7 July 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Artist portal ( Dutch )
- ↑ Biographical Woordenboek van Nederland , Volume 1. The Hague 1979
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