Roermond

Photo © Herr Bert

Travel Guide Europe Netherlands Limburg Roermond

Introduction

Roermond - City Hall

Roermond in a small city in the middle of the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located on the river Maas, and the smaller river Roer, where the name Roermond (mouth of the Roer) comes from. Near to Roermond you will find the Maasplassen, which is a huge recreational area, where you will find all kind of water related activities.

edit

Sights and Activities

Sint Christoffel Cathedral

The Sint Christoffel Cathedral is located at the market square. In 1410 works started on this late Gothic church. In 1661 the church got the label of a Cathedral, replacing an other church. In World War II, the tower was blown up by the Germans, one day before there retreat. After the war the tower was rebuild, although to a different design that the original tower. An earthquake in 1992 caused damage to the church. On top of the tower, stands a golden statue of Saint Christopher.

Munsterkerk

Roermond - Munsterkerk

The Munsterkerk dates back to the 13th century, and is the only church in the Netherlands to be built in a Late-Roman style. The chruch was built as part of a female group of Cistercians, that lived in the Munsterabbey, found by the duke of Gelre in 1218. Restaurations in the 19th century were carried out by architect Pierre Cuypers, a son of the city of Roermond, and also famous for building the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, amongst other buildings. His plans were controversial during these days, but carried out nevertheless. Next to the church stands a monument for Cuypers, made in 1930 by August Falise.

Nationaal Indie Monument

The National Indie Monument, located in the Citypark Hattem, is a monument for the victims of the war that followed World War II in Indonesia, in the period between 1945 and 1962. Besides this military monument there is also a monument for the civilians that lost their live in that period. Since 2003, a third monument (monument for peace operations) was added, to remember all the Dutch soldiers that were killed during peace corps missions. There is also a small research facility, which is opened from April 1, until October 1. The remembrance takes place on the first saturday of September.

Cuypershuis

The Cuypershuis is a museum dedicated to the work of the architect Pierre Cuypers, who was born and worked in Roermond. One of his most famous building is probably the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, besides the core collection, there are about 2 special expositions each year.

edit

Events and Festivals

Carnaval

The (catholic) south of the Netherlands celebrates carnaval at the beginning of the year. (40 days before Easter). During the days of Carnaval, all the names of the cities and towns get another (a bit loony) name. The party starts at Saturday and ends the following Tuesday. It goes hand in hand with a lot of drinking and dressing up.

Bevrijdingsfestival (5th of May)
Kermis

edit

Weather

During the summer months it's usually between 22 °C and 25 °C (daytime), but the highest temperatures can peak above 30 °C. It is common that a few days of hot weather are followed by thunderstorms. In winter it is around 0 °C or just above during the coldest winter months.

edit

Getting There

By Plane

The nearest airports is Düsseldorf International Airport. There are also airports in Maastricht, Weeze, Eindhoven and Cologne which are not that far away.

By Train

Venlo is about two hours by train from Amsterdam, half an hour from Eindhoven, and about one hour from Nijmegen. There are also connections to German cities like Duisburg, Cologne and Düsseldorf. Some of them require a stopover in Vierssen. Besides the central station in Venlo, you can also get off the train in Blerick and Tegelen.

By Car

Coming from the north you can get to Venlo using the A73 highway. From the south (Maastricht) you can also follow the A73, which has been completed in early 2008. Coming from the west you can use the A67. If you are coming from Germany, you can get to Venlo via the A61 (Koblenz, Cologne) or the A40 (Duisburg), and change to the A73 to reach Roermond.

By Bus

There are regional buses, and some regional busses coming from Germany.

By Boat

Around Roermond there are many marines, where you can dock your own boat, if you are cruising on the river Meuse (Maas). There are no commercial ferries on this part of the Meuse.

edit

Getting Around

By Car

Roermond is not the hardest city to get around in by car. Note that finding a place to park your car can be hard on peak hours, and on saturdays. A good option it to park the car at the designer outlet, and walk to the centre of town, which takes about 10 minutes. For then entire centre you need to pay to park your car.

By Public Transport

There is a network of citybusses, going around the city.

edit

Drink

In the area around the Stationsplein and the Roerkade you will find plenty of bars and restaurants.

edit

Keep Connected

Phone

Post

The rate for sending a postcard or letter up to 20 grams within the Netherlands is €0.46 (2010). Since 2010 there are stamps available for domestic post which no longer include the value in €. Instead, there are stamps available with either a '1' or a '2' as a substitute for value. The '1' can be used for letters and postcards up to 20 grams, while 20-50 grams require you to use the '2'-valued stamps (or two '1'-valued stamps of course).

Sending items to other EU countries will cost €0.67, while the rest of the world sets you back €0.89 per piece. Stamps are sold at post offices and supermarkets; often the place where you buy your postcards can also supply you with stamps.

Sending parcels abroad is more costly. A standard-sized parcel between 500-2,000 grams will cost you €9.10 for destinations within the EU, and €17.50 to the rest of the world. Parcel service is available from major post offices only; standard-size boxes are on sale there as well.

If you need to receive mail while moving around, you can have it sent poste restante (to be called for) to a post office of your choice, where it will be kept for a month. If you come to claim it, bring a valid ID, and make sure to have told the sender that the name on the envelope must be an exact match with that in your passport. For addresses of post offices, as well as more information, consult the TNT website.

edit