Roermond is a city, a municipality, and a diocese in the southeastern part of the Netherlands. The city of Roermond is a historically important town, on the lower Roer at the east bank of the Meuse river. It received city rights in 1231. Roermond town centre has been designated as a conservation area.
Through the centuries the town has filled the role of commercial centre, principal town in the duchy of Guelders and since 1559 it has served as the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Roermond. The skyline of the historic town is dominated by the towers of its two churches: St. Christopher Cathedral and Roermond Minster or ‘Munsterkerk’ in Dutch. In addition to important churches, the town centre has many listed buildings and monuments.
Though Roermond grew and expanded steadily over the years to come it was not until the start of the 21st century that Roermond saw another boost coming. This recent growth was mainly caused by the construction of the highway A73 circling Roermond on the east-side. The highway was planned to open in January 2007 with the 2.5 km long Roertunnel leading traffic underneath a part of the city and the shorter Swalmertunnel underneath Swalmen. However due to delays the tunnels only opened with 1 carriageway available and frequent closures. The tunnels grew infamous during the first weeks when numerous closures due to technical problems caused constant traffic jams. The tunnels are now fully operational. Another highway connection under construction is the German autobahn A52. The last 6 km stretch from Düsseldorf to the German-Dutch border was recently completed. The highway leads from Roermond straight to Düsseldorf. Though the economy runs above average in the region and the city attracts new residents (mainly young people), the city itself still has a fairly high unemployment rate of 10.7% and the average income is lower than the national average.
Roermond hosts several festivals, including a Liberation Day festival on 5 May and a techno festival Solar Weekend. Roermond is encircled by a green belt, which offers many opportunities for hiking and cycling. To the east nature reserves, such as the Meinweg National Park, the valley of the Leu (Leudal) and the Swalm and Roer rivers, provide woodlands, heath and meadows. The Meinweg also contains a small amount of wildlife including a small group of vipers, the only venomous snake to live in the Netherlands. To the west the Meuse River and its lake area, known as “Maasplassen”, offer opportunities for water recreation.
