(Limbourg), a province in Belgium on the border with the Netherlands. Area, 2,400 sq km. Population, 656,500 (1971). Capital, Hasselt.
Limburg is an agricultural region. There is a coal basin around Genk. Other industries include chemical processing, machine building, and nonferrous metallurgy. The Albert Canal crosses Limburg.
a province in the Netherlands on the border with Belgium, in the Maas River basin. Area, 2,200 sq km. Population, 1,022,400 (1972). Capital, Maastricht.
The country’s most important coal basin is in Limburg, around Heerlen. Approximately 102,500 workers (1970) are engaged in the manufacturing industries: 27.5 percent are in metalworking, including electrical engineering; approximately 16 percent in chemistry, mainly in fertilizer and plastics production; approximately 10 percent in china and earthenware production; approximately 10 percent in apparel and textiles; and less than 5 percent in food processing. Cement is produced in Limburg. Rye, oats, potatoes, and sugar beets are cultivated. There are orchards.
a historic region in Western Europe.
In the 11th century Limburg was a county, and in the 12th century it became a duchy, with the ducal seat in the city of Limburg. It was nominally part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1288, Limburg was joined to Brabant. In 1648 it was divided between the Spanish Netherlands and the United Provinces (Holland). In 1814, Limburg was set up as a province of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, though with territory significantly different from that of the former duchy. In 1839, Limburg was split into two provinces, one in the Netherlands, with its capital at Maastricht, and the other, sometimes spelled Limbourg, in Belgium, with its capital at Hasselt.
a city in the Federal Republic of Germany, in the Land of Hessen, on the navigable Lahn River. Population, 14,800 (1969). It is an old commercial and transportation point.
Limburg, which was first mentioned in sources in the early tenth century, became a city in the 13th century. In the center of the city is the Romanesque and Gothic Cathedral of St. George, which has seven towers and a choir. Next to the cathedral is a 13th-century castle, which now houses the diocesan museum. A 13th-century parish church, which was earlier the church of a Franciscan monastery, has also been preserved. A stone bridge, whose construction was completed around 1341, spans the Lahn River. The old city hall was built between the 15th and 18th centuries. The Walderdorffer Hof, which is now the city museum, was constructed in 1665. There are houses from the 17th and 18th centuries. The industrial development of Limburg began in the second half of the 19th century. Local industries include machine-building, electrical engineering, glass, and clothing. Over one-half of the people employed in Limburg commute there daily from other cities.