Gelen (Netherlands)

Gelen
	City
Gelen
	niderl. Geleen ; limbo. Gelaen
A country	Netherlands
Provinces	Limburg
Community	Sittard Gelen
History and Geography
Center height	60 m
Timezone	UTC + 1 , in summer UTC + 2
Population
Population	32,790 people ( 2006 )
Official language	Dutch , Limburg
Digital identifiers
Telephone code	+31 46
Postcode	6160 - 6167
Car code	M

Gelen ( niderl. Geleen , limb. Gelaen ) - a city in the southern part of the province of Limburg (Netherlands) .

Population: 32,790 ( 2006 ).

The city is located along the Gelenbek River (right tributary of the river Meuse ).

Content

History

The remains of one of the oldest prehistoric farms in the Netherlands are found here.

Until the end of the 19th century, Gehlen was a small village.

In the 20th century, the exploitation of coal mines in this region (including Moritz, the largest state-owned coal mine in Europe, located near Gelen, contributed to the rapid population growth of the city. In the 1960s and 1970s, all Dutch coal mines in this part of the province were closed.

Having lost the status of an independent community, Gelen from January 1, 2001, together with the cities of Sittard and Born, is part of the newly formed community of Sittard-Gelen .

Since 1962, Gehlen - twin French Pontoise .

Transport

The city has two railway stations: Gelen-Lutterade (Sittard- Maastricht line ) and Gelen-Vostochny (Sittard -Herlen line).

Two motorways pass through the city: A2 and A76 .

Sport

The silver medalist of the Netherlands Championship ( 1956/1957 ) and the two-time (1957, 1964) winner of the country's cup , the football club Fortuna '54 , were based in the city (in 1968 it was united by Sitaria to form Fortuna ).

The Dutch football coach Ton Kaanen was born in Gelen .

Links

Sittard-Gelen Official Website (nid.)