The municipality of Margraten is situated in the Mergelland National Park (Marl Landscape). With 9 core villages and 21 smaller hamlets, it is one of the most beautiful municipalities in South Limburg, both from the viewpoints of natural beauty and cultural history.

 

The municipality of Margraten consists of the parishes of Margraten, Cadier en Keer, Bemelen, Sint Geertruid, Mheer, Noorbeek, Banholt, Eckelrade and Scheulder. During the municipal restructuring of 1982, the name Margraten was chosen for the municipality, as this name was very well known due to the presence of the American military cemetery.

 

                     

 

The smaller hamlets forming part of the municipality of Margraten are Bergenhuizen, Bruisterbosch, Gasthuis, Groot Welsden, Herkenrade, Honthem, Hoogcruts, Klein Welsden, Libeek, Moerslag, 't Rooth, Schey, Schilberg (in part), St. Antoniusbank, Terhorst, Terlinden (in part), Termaar, Ulvend, Vroelen, Wesch and Wolfshuis.

 

Whereas the core villages of Cadier en Keer and Margraten have developed into commuter-oriented locations with facilities to match but without losing their specific cultural and historical identity, the seven other main villages have all retained their rural character.

 

The municipality covers an area of 5770 hectares. There are 189 km of roads outside the built-up areas and 53 km within the built-up areas. The municipality boasts 217 national heritage buildings and monuments and 60 municipal heritage buildings and monuments. The forested area owned by the municipality covers 58.85 hectares.

 

In addition to agriculture and fruit farming, tourism is continuing to grow in importance as an economic activity. The Mergelland route passes through part of our municipality. The characteristic natural beauty of the Mergelland entices many cycling and walking enthusiasts to explore it further. The village of Margraten is home to the Aan de Fremme business development area, which houses several companies, the largest of which is the Coöperatieve Fruitveiling Zuid-Limburg (Cooperative Fruit Auction for South Limburg).

 

Worthy of special mention are the tastefully structured American Military Cemetery, where 8302 soldiers have found their final resting place, the famous castle of Mheer, the Van Tienhoven windmill on the plateau near the hamlet of Gasthuis, and the Afrikacentrum (Africa Centre) in Cadier en Keer. The hamlet of ’t Rooth is well known for the marl, which is extracted locally. The town council, however, is of the opinion that this extraction should not be allowed to expand indefinitely and should be capped at a limited expansion of the present quarry.