Brunssum
| Brunssum Broensem |
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: 50°57′N 5°58′E / 50.95°N 5.967°E | |||
| Country | Netherlands | ||
| Province | Limburg | ||
| Area(2006) | |||
| • Total | 17.29 km2 (6.7 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 17.17 km2 (6.6 sq mi) | ||
| • Water | 0.13 km2 (0.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population (1 January 2007) | |||
| • Total | 29,742 | ||
| • Density | 1,723/km2 (4,462.5/sq mi) | ||
| Source: CBS, Statline. | |||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
Brunssum (
pronunciation (help·info)) (Limburgish: Broensem) is a municipality and a town in the province of Limburg, the Netherlands. Brunssum was formerly a center of coal mining in the Netherlands and there are a few active mines remaining in the area. The municipality of Brunssum has 29,742 inhabitants as of 2007.
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[edit] NATO
Brunssum is the current home of Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFC Brunssum), a NATO headquarters one level below SHAPE in the inegrated military command structure. The headquarters was known as Headquarters, Allied Forces Central Europe (HQ AFCENT) from its inception in Fontainebleau, France and relocation to Brunssum in 1967. The name was changed to Regional Headquarters, Allied Forces Northern Europe (RHQ AFNORTH) when a restructuring in 2000 led to the closing of HQ AFNORTH in Kolsås, Norway. The current title was adopted in 2004 to add flexibility to the military command structure by removing regional restrictions. The main base area, Hendrik Camp, was built on a former coal mine called Hendrik Mine.[1]
Brunssum is also the home of the AFNORTH International School, located just outside of Hendrik Camp. AFNORTH International School is a K-12 school that mainly provides service to American, British, Canadian, and German dependents[2] of military personnel assigned to JFC Brunssum, the US Army base in Schinnen, and NATO Air Base in Geilenkirchen, Germany.
[edit] Nature
The Brunssummerheide is a sloping nature landscape with many trails for hiking and running. It is bisected by a brook called Roode Beek (Red Brook). The Brunssumerheide is a protected nature preserve.
The murder of Nicky Verstappen happened here in 1998. The murderer is yet to be identified.
[edit] Sport
The local football team is BSV Limburgia, formerly known as SV Limburgia, which compete at an amateur level. As SV Limburgia the competed in the Eredivisie (Honorary Division) at various times and finished first in 1950. Upon the introduction of professional football in the Netherlands in 1954, SV Limburgia had little success and was relegated to the lowest level of Dutch football, Tweede Divisie (Second Division).
The annual Parelloop ten kilometer road running race is held Brunssum. Micah Kogo from Kenya won the race in 2009, breaking the world record for that distance.[3]
[edit] Population centres
[edit] People from Brunssum
- Bob Altena (b. 1986), decathlete
- Jan Dietz (b. 1945), computer scientist
- Patrick Dybiona (b. 1963), freestyle swimmer
- Edward Ka-Spel (b. 1954), musician
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brunssum |
- Official Website
- Information about Brunssum
- Website for Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum
- AFNORTH International School
- Team 2037, official FIRST team hosted in Brunssum
- AFCENT/AFNORTH International School Alumni website
