Gulpen-Wittem

Gulpen-Wittem Gullepe-Wittem
Municipality
The Gulp River through Gulpen
Flag Coat of arms
Location in Limburg
Coordinates: 50°49′N 5°53′E / 50.817°N 5.883°E / 50.817; 5.883Coordinates: 50°49′N 5°53′E / 50.817°N 5.883°E / 50.817; 5.883
Country	Netherlands
Province	Limburg
Established	1 January 1999
Government
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Bas van den Tillaar (CDA)
Area
• Total	73.35 km2 (28.32 sq mi)
• Land	73.16 km2 (28.25 sq mi)
• Water	0.19 km2 (0.07 sq mi)
Elevation	95 m (312 ft)
Population (May 2014)
• Total	14,431
• Density	197/km2 (510/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode	6270–6289, 6320–6321
Area code	043
Website	www.gulpen-wittem.nl

Gulpen-Wittem ( pronunciation ) (Limburgish: Gullepe-Wittem) is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands (in the province of Limburg) with 14,431 inhabitants as of 2014.

Gulpen-Wittem came into being after the merger of the municipalities Gulpen and Wittem. This took place after a request of both municipalities. At the time of the merger, both municipalities had about 8000 inhabitants, although Wittem was bigger than Gulpen. The town hall was situated in Gulpen, and has kept its function as town hall in the new municipality. The former town hall of Wittem was situated in a manor house in Mechelen since 1986, which is now being used as a "nursing hostel".

The municipality is very rural, with a lot of castles, half-timbered houses and old monumental farms. Yearly, Gulpen-Wittem attracts many tourists from the entire country because of its relatively sloping landscape, especially during the summer.

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Gulpen-Wittem, June 2015

Apart from beer brewing ("Gulpener" (at Gulpen) and "Brand" (at Wijlre)), vinager production ("Gulpener") and agriculture, tourism is essential aspect of economical activity in this municipality. Especially Slenaken is a distinct tourist site.