Surprising Kerkrade

In the border region of Kerkrade you drive through a surprisingly beautiful area of green hills, charming villages and old sights. Along the way you will find plenty of places to enjoy a local specialty.

Rimburg Castle
In Rimburg you will pass the Trinity Church, a beautiful national monument from 1726. A little later you will cross the Worm, a tributary of the Roer that forms part of the Dutch-German border. On the water are the eighteenth-century Rimburger mill and Rimburg Castle, a castle that originally dates from the twelfth century. Historically, these two buildings belong to Rimburg, but since 1816 they have been on German territory.

Strijthagerbeekdal
The route also takes you through some small-scale nature reserves. In the valley of the Broicher stream you will see swamp forests and moist flowery meadows. It is nice and quiet to cycle here in this bird-rich area. The Strijthagerbeekdal in Kerkrade is a beautiful landscape where you can see, among other things, a sixteenth-century castle. Megaland is also located here, where Pinkpop takes place every year.

Eurode
The area through which this route takes you is also called Eurode. This is the name of an official partnership between the Dutch Kerkrade and the German Herzogenrath. Eurode has existed since 1991, but actually has a much longer history. Since the twelfth century, Kerkrade and Herzogenrath have actually formed one city. The inhabitants spoke the same dialect (Ripuarian, a German variant of Limburgish), shared the same culture and had many family ties. After the defeat of Napoleon, Kerkrade was added to Limburg in 1815. However, Herzogenrath fell into Prussian hands. By the way, Kerkrade is one of the few places in the Netherlands where Ripuarian can still be heard.