Historically, the province of Limburg has nothing in common with the duchy Limburg at
the Vesder, from which it derives its name.
The land between Maas and Rhine belonged to the county Loon during the Middle Ages.
In the fourteenth century it was enclosed within the principality of Liège.
In the period between 1794 and 1830 it has consecutively been ruled by the French
and afterwards by the Dutch.
From 1839 on it became Belgian.
It would have been more logical to name the region “Loon” or “The Land of Loon”,
but at the foundation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 the separate
provinces got the names of the original principalities with the exception of Loon, because
Willem I, king of the Netherlands, looked differently upon the matter.
So, in the draft of the new constitution it was stated that Loon should belong to Limburg.
This region is still rural. The province of Limburg doesn't really have any big cities.
The most important centre is Hasselt.
Farms and churches, castles, mansions and small cottages alike are linked together on
the slopes of this southern landscape.
In the very heart of "the black land of coal" formerly quiet villages have developed into busy
little cities. Limburg is the land of juniper-berries and juniper.
But also of Jan and Hubert Van Eyck, de famous Flemish Primitive Painters.
Also in this region the knights of the German Order built their settlement in Alden Biezen.
As fierce defenders of Christianity and of the Church they were for more than 600 years
involved in the greatest historical events of the Occident.
For those who like it, this subdued, quiet landscape is best enjoyed during a bike ride on a sunny day

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