Maasplassen
Coordinates: 51 ° 10 ′ 10 ″ N , 5 ° 54 ′ 50 ″ E
The term Maasplassen (German Maasseen ; Dutch plas , German Tümpel) describes a region in Belgian / Dutch Limburg , the shape of which was not created until the middle of the 20th century through the large-scale mining of gravel .
After the great flood from January 31, 1953 (Holland storm surge) were enormous construction projects in the area of the coast of dikes and protective dams ( Delta Works ) as well as for embankments ( Polder ) in the provinces of Zeeland and Noord-Holland large amounts of sand and gravel required for concrete production and for embankments.
Among other things, the province of Limburg also had to contribute a fixed amount of gravel and sand. The area between Maaseik and Roermond in the Maas Valley has large gravel deposits and is conveniently located so that the quantities removed can be transported to the coast on waterways. In addition, there was transport capacity here, as this region had a corresponding infrastructure due to its coal deposits and steel production. In addition, the port of Maasbracht was one of the largest inland ports in the Netherlands at that time. For these reasons, mining was concentrated around Roermond.
From around 1960, more and more gravel excavations were carried out on a large scale between the city of Maaseik (Belgium), today's municipality of Maasgouw , today's municipality of Leudal and the city of Roermond on the Maas . For the removal of extracted sand and gravel ( Grind ), the mining areas ( Grindgaten ) were connected to each other and to the Meuse in a navigable manner.
Recreation and tourism
Due to the decline in gravel excavations and recultivation measures, this area became known as Maasplassen as a local recreation and water sports area that is well known beyond the borders. The approximately 3000 hectare area, in which gravel excavations are still taking place, is the largest inland water sports area in the Netherlands, with some of the bodies of water that can be reached from the Meuse being on Belgian territory. Over 20 private or community-owned sport boat harbors are part of today's landscape. Textile sunbathing ( nudism ) is also tolerated locally on the Maasplassen .
There are two Maass locks in this area:
- south of Roermond near Linne is the Linne lock
- north of Roermond is the Roermond lock
as well as three canal locks:
- to the lateral canal (Linne-Buggenum) at Heel the Heel lock,
- to the Wessem – Niederweert canal at Panheel the Panheel lock
- to the Julianakanal (Maastricht-Maasbracht) at Maasbracht the Maasbracht lock
All of the named canals and the Meuse meet at Maasbracht to form a large waterway cross .
The Rur flows into the Meuse in Roermond with two branches. The inner-city estuary of the Rur has a jetty for pleasure craft . Here visitors with boats up to 8 mtr. Length of a "pier" laid out on both sides of the Rur z. B. for a visit to Roermond, but staying overnight is not allowed. The Rur is here max. 30 m wide, but often occupied by boats on both sides. The length of the boat had to be limited because otherwise turning in the narrow and flowing river arm of longer boats would be impossible or only possible with considerable danger.
The other branch of the estuary, also called Hambeek , flows into the Meuse a little further south of the city center.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Isabellagriend nudist beach. Retrieved August 16, 2017 .
- ↑ naturisten-maastricht.nl. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 16, 2017 ; accessed on August 16, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
