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I was born in Limburg, about 60 years ago in the city of Heerlen to be exact I was born on the day our suburb was liberated from German occupation during worldwar 2. I attended school there and , like most other boys in Heerlen I attended a public school run by the religion that was dominant in that area. In my case Roman Catholic. From primary school to Intermediate school and then onto a trade's school, where I studied, Interior decorating, Signwriting, Gold leaf lettering, and painting. I stayed there untill the age of 12, and then emigrated to New Zealand, where I have lived ever since. Got married, worked as a member of the New Zealand Police and eventually retired there. |
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They are a race of 'hunters' who arrived in what is now Limburg in about 4000 B.C.. They were known as the 'bandkeramiekers' because of the primitive decorative bands on their clay pots and urns. They used weapons made out of stone and the antlers of Deer and Elands that they hunted in the area. They also mined 'flint' for the use of lighting fires, and the construction of weapons. i.e. arrowheads, spears, etc. There are also indications that they started settlements and farmed the area. Remains of these 'farming' villages have been found in Sittard, Geleen, Beek and Elsloo. They continued to occupy and live in Limburg until the second century when the place was taken over by the 'Pax Romana' and the Roman armies build roads and crossings to the 'front' on the Rhine. (Colonia Ulpia Trajana). At the most important crossroads they build a Castella (Place for rest and recreation) and one of these was known as Coriumvallum. (Crossroads in the valley), later knows as Heerlen. So I was born in a city, started by the Roman armies as a rest area. Like most other places, where there was a settlement of soldiers, there soon was also a settlement of trades people, etc. And eventually a settlement, then village, a town and eventually a city . One of the most interestings Roman ruins were discovered in 1940 underneath the present townhall of the City of Heerlen, and has been excavated, It is a Roman spa (bathhouse), measuring
50 x 50 metres in size and consisted of an entrance hall, spotshalls, an open air swimming
pool , surrounded by sauna rooms and lukewarm and cold water plunge pools and even a games field, attached to the main building. One of the inscriptions in the entrance hall reads. "Marcus Sattonius Iucundus, Decurio of Colonia Ulpia Traina, has by the restoration of this building, fulfilled his promise to the god Fortuna Redux." Roman history shows that this Sattonius Iucundus was a legionair leader from the Legio III Augusta, based in North Africa. As a reward for his long service he is appointed to be a town administrator (decurio) of Xantes and was given the explicit task of restoring the bathhouse at Heerlen. Towards the end of the third century a new religion (Christian) starts to make its influence felt in the area As this new religion is in direct contrast with the Roman gods, it is forbidden to practice or be part of it. This ofcourse has the oposite result as what was intended, the new religion spread like 'wildfire.' When the Roman Empire collapsed at the end of the 4th century by being 'overcome' by the Barbarian hordes. The Limburgers started to become important politically in the 7th and 8th century, The Pippinites, Pippin of Herstal, Charles Martel, Pippin the short (who in 751 defeated the last Frankish King and took his place) and eventually ,''Charles the Great" were Limburgers. The building of new churches for the new religion took place at a greatly accelarated pace. If you have kept reading up to now then please go to the next pages for the remainder of the history of the Limburgers. |
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