Holiday apartment in Simpelveld: Miljoenenlijn and Roman heritage
The municipality of Simpelveld lies in the valley of the Eyserbeek and is characterised by steep slopes and hill plateaus with expansive views. At the same time, the municipality is home to the Miljoenenlijn: visitors can depart from the nostalgic railway station on a steam train. Here, distinctive landscapes and railway history come together directly.
Railway
The historic railway station complex in Simpelveld includes a small railway museum. The museum at Simpelveld station covers the history of the Miljoenenlijn, the Aachen–Maastricht railway line, the Limburg Tramway Company and Limburg’s mining industry. The Miljoenenlijn depot houses a collection of locomotives and railway carriages.
The Miljoenenlijn offers steam train and railbus rides through the hills of South Limburg and the Parkstad region. Another connection between walking and rail is described by the “Wandelen in Simpelveld-Bocholtz” hike: it runs near a Miljoenenlijn stop, from which an authentic railbus travels to the main railway station in Simpelveld.
Culture
The De Schat van Simpelveld Museum is located in a listed monastery. On display are finely crafted embroideries, paintings, golden chalices, wax figures and medieval sculptures. The museum also provides an insight into monastic life in the early 20th century. It is accessible to people with disabilities and wheelchair users.
In Bocholtz, the memorial window commemorates the hardships of the Second World War and the Dutch struggle in Indonesia, then known as the Dutch East Indies. Created in 1951 by Maastricht stained-glass artist Hub Levigne, the monument consists of mouth-blown stained glass and depicts two residents of Bocholtz who lost their lives in the war.
Historical buildings include Villa Vlengendaal, which has been a Rijksmonument and therefore a Dutch national monument since 1983. Of Hoeve Overhuizen, outbuildings, barns, a chapel and an enclosed farm building constructed from limestone have been preserved. The Jacobus de Meerdere Church in Bocholtz was built between 1869 and 1873 by P. Cuypers and extended on the chancel side by H. Koene in 1953. Its older section is neo-Gothic and consists of a nave, two aisles and a transept.
Nature
The Hellingbos in Simpelveld is a park-like deciduous forest and freely accessible to visitors. The forest contains at least 14 Stations of the Cross; Hellingbos is also home to a Lourdes grotto. In Simpelveld, Via Belgica offers free audio walks. Historical audio stories lead visitors to archaeological sites and into the region’s Roman past.
Archaeological traces have also been preserved in the Roman Valley of Bocholtz: a Roman cinerary chest and part of a Roman road were excavated there. At the Roman Exhibition in Bocholtz, visitors can view the original of a special cinerary chest discovered in Bocholtz in 2003. Another archaeological site is the Lady of Simpelveld. It is located in the park along Lange Graaf, by the bench opposite house number 7.
The Roman heritage of Bocholtz and Simpelveld can be explored on four free walking and cycling routes measuring 4.6 km, 11.3 km, 8.4 km and 44.2 km. The “Rondom plateau Bocholtz Simpelveld” cycling tour is rated medium in difficulty.
Regional products
The local offerings include the Mertens-Urlings farm shop in Simpelveld, selling vegetables, fruit and regional products, as well as Landbouwbedrijf Vanhommerig – Het Loeigoed in Simpelveld. Potatoes and fresh milk are sold there daily by arrangement.
To the higher-level travel overview: Limburg.
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