Sittard-Geleen (Dutch: [ˈsɪtɑrt xəˈleːn] ; Limburgish: Zittert-Gelaen [ˈzɪtəʀt xəˈlɛːn]) is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It was formed in 2001 from the former municipalities Sittard, Geleen and Born.
The combined municipality has approximately 92,650 inhabitants (January 2024) and is thus the third most populated municipality in Limburg (after Maastricht with 125,000 and Venlo with 103,000 inhabitants). Since February 2020, it has been governed by a coalition of CDA (Christian Democrats), GroenLinks (Green) and the local parties GOB and Stadspartij.
The highway connecting the centres of Sittard and Geleen, the Rijkswegboulevard, has been rebuilt to be a main route for cycling and walking. The provision for cyclists and pedestrians is generous and continuous. Side road junctions, or crossroads, are made 'subordinate'. The carriageways have been narrowed to one 3m lane in each direction. Parking places have been made, in small groups, at the side of the carriageways. These are made to be "not easy to use for larger vehicles," so the road centre is marked as a place for delivery vehicles to stop.
To the west, Sittard-Geleen borders on Belgium, while to the east, it borders on Germany.
Contents
Population centres
Abshoven, Born, Broeksittard, Buchten, Einighausen, Geleen, Graetheide, Grevenbicht, Guttecoven, Holtum, Limbricht, Munstergeleen, Windraak, Obbicht, Papenhoven, Schipperskerk and Sittard.
Topography
Dutch topographic map of the municipality
Notable people
Saint Charles of Mount Argus (1821 in Munstergeleen – 1893) a canonized Dutch Passionist priest
Frederic Adolph Hoefer (1850 in Sittard – 1938) a Dutch lieutenant-general, militaria collector and archivist
Godfrid Storms (1911 in Sittard – 2003) a Dutch professor of Old and Middle English Literature
Willy Dols (1911 in Sittard – 1944) a Dutch linguist, dialectologist and phonologist
Toon Hermans (1916 in Sittard – 2000) a Dutch comedian, singer and writer
Settela Steinbach (1934 in Buchten – 1944) a Dutch girl who was gassed in Auschwitz-Birkenau
Thea Fleming (born 1942 in Sittard) a Dutch film actress
Rein Willems (born 1945 in Geleen) President of Royal Dutch Shell 2003–2007
Paul Derrez (born 1950 in Sittard) a visual artist, a jewelry designer, gallery owner and collector
Jan Cremers (born 1952 in Limbricht) a former Dutch politician and sociologist
Wim Heldens (born 1954 in Sittard) a Dutch realist painter
Francine Houben (born 1955 in Sittard) a Dutch architect
Mike van Diem (born 1959, grew up in Sittard) a Dutch film director
Rineke Dijkstra (born 1959 in Sittard) a Dutch portrait photographer
Sport
Leo Horn (1916 in Sittard – 1995) an international football referee, newspaper columnist, and textile manufacturer
Jan Krekels (born 1947 in Sittard) a retired cyclist, 1968 Olympic champion in the 100 km team time trial
Huub Stevens (born 1953 in Sittard) a football manager and former defender with 397 club caps
Wilbert Suvrijn (born 1962 in Sittard) a retired Dutch footballer with 341 club caps
Lambert Schuurs (born 1962 in Sittard) a retired handball player and ultra-long-distance runner
Arnold Vanderlyde (born 1963 in Sittard) a former Dutch boxer, who participated in three Summer Olympics (1984, 1988 and 1992) and won three bronze medals
Wil Boessen (born 1964 in Sittard) a Dutch retired football player with 397 club caps and manager
Ton Caanen (born 1966 in Geleen) a Dutch football manager.
Rens Blom (born 1977 in Munstergeleen) a Dutch pole vaulter, competed in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics
Maartje Paumen (born 1985 in Geleen) a former Dutch field hockey player, twice gold medallist at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, silver medallist at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Benjamin van den Broek (born 1987 in Geleen) a New Zealand international footballer with 275 club caps
Rob Bontje (born 1981 in Grevenbicht) a volleyball player, competed at the 2004 Olympic Games
Twin and partner cities
Hasselt, Belgium