Kerkrade

Kerkrade Kirchroa
Municipality
Kerkrade city hall
Flag Coat of arms
Location in Limburg
Coordinates: 50°52′N 6°4′E / 50.867°N 6.067°E / 50.867; 6.067Coordinates: 50°52′N 6°4′E / 50.867°N 6.067°E / 50.867; 6.067
Country	Netherlands
Province	Limburg
Government
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Jos Som (CDA)
Area
• Total	22.13 km2 (8.54 sq mi)
• Land	21.90 km2 (8.46 sq mi)
• Water	0.23 km2 (0.09 sq mi)
Elevation	155 m (509 ft)
Population (May 2014)
• Total	46,627
• Density	2,129/km2 (5,510/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Kerkradenaar
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode	6460–6471
Area code	045
Website	www.kerkrade.nl

Kerkrade ([ˈkɛrkraːdə], Kerkrade dialect: Kirchroa [ˈkeʁçʁoə̯]) is a town and a municipality in the southeast of Limburg, the southernmost province of the Netherlands.

Kerkrade is the western half of a divided city; before the independence of the Netherlands, it was part of the German town of Herzogenrath. The two towns, including outlying suburban settlements, have a population approaching 100,000, of which nearly 47,000 in Kerkrade.

The history of Kerkrade is closely linked with that of the adjacent town of Herzogenrath, just across the German border. Herzogenrath began as a settlement, called Rode, near the river Worm (or Wurm in German) in the 11th century. In 1104 Augustinian monks founded an abbey, called Kloosterrade, to the west of this settlement.

It was called 's-Hertogenrode or 's-Hertogenrade (Dutch: the Duke's Rode) after the duchy of Brabant took control over the region; in French it was called Rolduc (Rode-le-duc). As is the case for many parts of the Southern Netherlands, the place changed hands several times in the last few centuries. It was under Spanish control from 1661, Austrian between 1713 and 1785 and French between 1795 and 1813. In 1815, when the kingdom of the Netherlands was formed (see Vienna Congress), the border was drawn through Herzogenrath, the western part being Kerkrade.