Brunssum

Sister cities

• Alsdorf

History

There are indications of activity going back to prehistory in the Brunssum area and in the neighboring municipalities of Heerlen and Landgraaf. Little is known about this habitation, but soil findings and medieval records indicate a continuous occupation of the area over the past 2,000 years. In the Middle Ages, ground fortification were erected in the Schutterspark for protection. The parish of Brunssum has been known since 1150, and together with Schinveld and Jabeek it formed a magistrate within the Land of Valkenburg. In 1557 the magistrate of Brunssum, consisting of Brunssum, Schinveld and Jabeek, was pledged by the Spanish government to the Hoen van Amstenrade family, and in 1609 sold to Arnold III Huyn van Geleen. In 1664 the fiefdom Brunssum was absorbed in the land of Geleen and Amstenrade. At the end of the Ancien Régime in 1794, Brunssum became an independent municipality. In 1150 there was already a Saint Gregorius church in the city center and in 1579 it was elevated to a parish church. The Saint Gregorius church has been rebuilt 4 times. The current church was built in 1961, in part financed by the Dutch State Mines, as the third church was severely damaged by soil settling as a result of coal mining activities. The Brunssum city-arms is composed of the weapon of the Huyn family and the parish saint.