Kerkrade
Kerkrade Kirchroa | |
|---|---|
Kerkrade city hall | |
Location in Limburg | |
| Coordinates: 50°52′N 6°4′E / 50.867°N 6.067°E | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | Limburg |
| Government | |
| • Body | Municipal council |
| • Mayor | Petra Dassen-Housen (CDA) |
| Area | |
• Total | 22.15 km2 (8.55 sq mi) |
| • Land | 21.91 km2 (8.46 sq mi) |
| • Water | 0.24 km2 (0.09 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 155 m (509 ft) |
| Population (January 2021) | |
• Total | 45,442 |
| • Density | 2,074/km2 (5,370/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Kerkradenaar |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postcode | 6460–6471 |
| Area code | 045 |
| Website | www |
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Kerkrade (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkɛrkˌraːdə] ⓘ; Ripuarian: Kirchroa; Limburgish: Kirkraoj; German: Kerkrade or Kirchrath) is a town and a municipality in the southeast of Limburg, the southernmost province of the Netherlands. It forms part of the Parkstad Limburg agglomeration.
Kerkrade is the western half of a divided city; until 1795 the city was part of the Austrian Netherlands and from 1795 to 1815 it was part of the French Empire. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna created the current Dutch-German border and divided the town into the Dutch Kerkrade and the Prussian (German) Herzogenrath. This means that the eastern end of Kerkrade marks the international border.
The two towns, including outlying suburban settlements, have a population approaching 100,000, of which nearly 47,000 are in Kerkrade.