Geleen (Dutch pronunciation:[ɣəˈleːn];
Limburgish: Gelaen[ɣəˈlɛːn]) is a city in the southern part of the province of
Limburg in the
Netherlands. With 31,670 inhabitants in 2020, it is part of the municipality of
Sittard-Geleen. Geleen is situated along the river
Geleenbeek, a right tributary to the river
Meuse. The Latin name for Geleenbeek is Glana, meaning "clear river". The town centre is situated at about 60 m above sea level.
History
Until the end of the 19th century, Geleen was a very small village. Its population was 2,545 in 1899.[3] The remains of one of the oldest prehistoric farms in the Netherlands were found here. In the 20th century the exploitation of
coal mines in this area (the state-owned coal mine "
Maurits", the biggest in Europe, was located in Geleen) brought a fast population increase. During the 1960s and 1970s the
Dutch coal mines, which were all located in this part of the province, were closed. The state mining company
DSM (privatised in 1989) remained active in Geleen, however, now purely as a
chemicals producer. In July 2002, part of DSM's petrochemicals business, located on the manufacturing locations in Geleen and
Gelsenkirchen (Germany) were acquired by
SABIC Europe.
Sports and events
The soccer club
Fortuna '54, was the former soccer club of Geleen.
Geleen has a professional ice hockey team called the
Geleen Eaters.
The pop and rock festival
Pinkpop, the oldest and longest running annual dedicated pop and rock music festival in the world,[4][5] also has its roots in Geleen. It was held there from 1970 until 1986. This festival was held in the
Burgemeester Damen Sportpark, which includes the sports centre Glanerbrook. The nearby swimming pool was popular with the artists, who enjoyed themselves backstage.
In Geleen there's a yearly town
fair (one week after
Whitsun).
Ruins of
Jansgeleen Castle, with restored
outer bailey and water mill (Sint-)Jansmolen, to the south-east of Geleen, on the territory of the municipality of Beek.
Sint-Janskluis, former hermitage from 1699.
De Biesenhof, recently restored historical farmhouse.
Parish church Sint Marcellinus and Petrus of Oud-Geleen.
Drossaerdhuis at Geenstraat.
Monument at Geenstraat (near train station Geleen-Lutterade) in memory of the
martyr sister
Aloysia, the Jewish-Catholic Louise Löwenfels.[6]