Sittard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sittard is a city with 48,400 inhabitants (including Munstergeleen, Limbricht, Einighausen and Guttecoven). It is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen, in the province of Limburg, the Netherlands. It is situated on the border with Germany (Selfkant). The Sittard train station provides connections with Maastricht, Roermond and Heerlen. Sittard is the home of the semi-professional football club Fortuna Sittard. The SABIC European head office, as well as a large DSM office and production facilities, are based in Sittard. There are several schools for professional education in the city, including faculties of the Hogeschool Zuyd and Fontys Hogescholen.
Sittard has a small, attractive city centre with many architectural monuments, including several old churches (St Peter's, St Michael's, Basilica of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) and a few half-timbered houses. The city has retained part of its city wall. On the south-eastern side of the city centre, the St Rosa chapel crowns the Kollenberg hill.
Sittard was first mentioned in 1157. Sittard was granted city rights by the Duke of Limburg in 1243. In 1400 it was sold to the Duchy of Jülich, and remained in its possession until 1794. Sittard was a small stronghold, until a great part of it was destroyed in 1677 during the Franco-Dutch War. Under French occupation (1794-1814), Sittard was part of the Roer department. Since 1814, it has been part of the Netherlands, except for the years 1830-1839, when it joined the Belgian Revolution.
Its geographical data are:
- 51°0' Latitude North
- 5°52' Longitude East
- 52 meter Altitude
- UTC+1 Timezone
 St Peter's church, Sittard |
 SABIC office, Sittard |
 Sittard city park |
 Street in Sittard centre |
 Sittard city wall |
 Sittard train station |
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