Munstergeleen

History

No one knows exactly how Munstergeleen was named. However, it is near the city of Geleen and the Dutch word munster can refer to a monastery. In the second half of the 12th century Munstergeleen was home to a Roman Catholic institution (called a proosdij in Dutch) that was commonly associated with a monastery. Evidence for Munstergeleen's early existence is provided by an explicit mention of Munstergeleen in the records of Cloister of St. Gerlach, in Houthem, Netherlands, in the year 1202. The context of the records makes it clear that Munstergeleen had already existed for some time by the beginning of the 13th century. Munstergeleen was a separate municipality until 1982, when it was merged with Sittard. During the time that it was a separate municipality, Munstergeleen had its own flag consisting of two equally wide stripes of blue and red and a yellow hoist-triangle along the left-hand edge. A white sword symbolizing Saint Pancratius is centered on the blue stripe, a white pair of pliers symbolizing Saint Apollonia is on the red stripe, and a black snakehead cross from the Sittard Coat of Arms is in the yellow hoist-triangle. This flag is depicted at the "Flags of the World" website.

Most-observed species

• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,001
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  14,499
• Common Chiffchaff

  Phylloscopus collybita (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  12,901
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  12,706
• Great Spotted Woodpecker

  Dendrocopos major (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,444
• Egyptian Goose

  Alopochen aegyptiaca (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  11,803
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  11,480
• European Stonechat

  Saxicola rubicola (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  11,371

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2021-01-02
  5 km ENE of Eynatten, Belgium
• M 2.9 — 2018-05-25
  1 km S of Reppel, Belgium
• M 2.9 — 2013-01-20
  0 km WNW of Brachterbeek, Netherlands
• M 4.2 — 2011-09-08
  3 km ENE of Heijen, Netherlands
• M 4.1 — 2009-07-24
  2 km NW of Kamp-Lintfort, Germany
• M 3.2 — 2008-12-25
  6 km ESE of Rheinberg, Germany