20 Attractions to Explore Near Mergellandroute

Labyrinth is Europe’s largest outdoor shrub maze. It was built by British landscape artist Adrian Fisher who used 17,000 hornbeam shDreiländereck rubs to constitute the maze. Not only is the maze the most South-Easterly place in the Netherlands, it is also the highest.

The Vijlenerbos is an approximately 650 ha large forest and nature reserve near the town of Vijlen in the Dutch Limburg municipality of Vaals . Small parts of the Belgian municipality of Blieberg are located on the southern edge of the forest . The Vijlenerbos actually consists of several forests, all of which are owned by Staatsbosbeheer . it is therefore sometimes referred to as the Vijlenerbossen.

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany, and one of the oldest cathedrals in Europe. It was constructed by an order from the emperor Charlemagne in 814. Since 1802, it is the mother church of the Diocese of Aachen.

The Zuid-Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij is a foundation that operates the steam train service on the railway line between Kerkrade and Schin op Geul , a tourist railway , under the museum name Miljoenenlijn . The section between Kerkrade and Simpelveld is part of the Miljoenenlijn . Up to and including 2016, Schin op Geul and Valkenburg also ran.

Buitenplaats Kasteel Wijlre is a center for culture and landscape in and around Castle Wijlre in the South Limburg village of Wijlre. Contemporary art exhibitions are presented in the castle's historic coach house and the modern art pavilion Hedge House in the castle park. The whole of the castle, the gardens and the art collection are seen as a Gesamtkunstwerk. Buitenplaats Wijlre Castle is a total experience for art, nature, architecture and heritage.

GaiaZOO Zuid-Limburg is one of the most beautiful zoos in the Benelux. It has won many awards and succeeds in living up to its own GaiaZOO theory. It hosts approximately 100 different species. Besides traditional zoo animals such as gorillas, rhinoceroses, lions, zebras , GaiaZOO has some species which cannot be found in other Dutch zoos such as Amazon bush dogs, wolverines, muskoxen and bat-eared foxes.

SnowWorld Landgraaf is a company with indoor ski slopes on the Wilhelminaberg in Landgraaf in the Dutch province of Limburg . It is operated by SnowWorld Leisure NV . In addition to the branch in Landgraaf, this company also has branches in Zoetermeer, Amsterdam, Rucphen and Terneuzen. Until 2020, Snowworld Landgraaf was the largest ski hall in the world with almost 35,000 m² of snow, in January SNØ opened in Norway with 36,000 m² of snow.

A majestic and beautiful estate on the territory of the Dutch Limburg municipality of Landgraaf, located in the Strijthagerbeek valley, at the heart of Schaesberg. It was built in the 18th century on the site of an older castle. The walls of the main building consist of so-called bacon layers. The castle complex also consists of the classicist steward's house, the 17th-century white-plastered outer bailey, the watermill called Strijthagermolen, and the coach house.

Mondo Verde is a 25 hectare theme , amusement park and animal park located in Park Gravenrode , Landgraaf . Mondo Verde mainly shows international gardens with the accompanying culture. You can also use a number of attractions and animals are kept here.

The Thermenmuseum is an archaeological museum in the center of the Dutch-Limburg city ​​of Heerlen . Opened in 1977, the museum is built around the excavation of a Roman bathhouse, which is the oldest, largest and best-preserved antique building in the Netherlands. Here you can admire not only the remains of the Roman bathhouse, but also many archaeological objects that have been found in the Heerlen region.

A majestic building, which was fulley covered  by glass, built in the years 1934-1935 and serves as the cultural centre. It belongs to the architecture of Het Nieuwe Bouwen, a style more or less comparable to that of the Bauhaus, Modernism and International Style. Architect is Frits Peutz, largely responsible for reshaping Heerlen in a modern way.

Schaesberg Castle is located between the Schaesberg core of the municipality of Landgraaf and Heerlen in Dutch Limburg . Only the ruins of the main building remain of the castle of the lords of Schaesberg. From 2012, the castle is being rebuilt in phases.The moated castle was built in its last intact form in the 16th and 17th centuries in the style of the Maasland Renaissance . It was one of the best and most extensive examples of this architectural style.

Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is a Second World War military war grave cemetery, located in the village of Margraten. More than 8,000 soldiers are buried at this only American cemetery in the Netherlands. The majority were killed during the liberation of the south-east of the Netherlands in WWII and the advance through Germany.

A toboggan run is an attraction type that can be found in amusement parks and winter sports areas. The attraction type is based on the sport of tobogganing, but in this case without ice. Here in this area you can enjoy the ride with a beautiful view you whiz down the 375 and 325 meter long toboggan runs. You determine the speed yourself! When you are done with a job, you will be brought back up by our drag lift.

MergelRijk is a marl cave in Valkenburg and part of the Limburger tunnels. Visit MergelRijk and come face to face with its life-sized- and miniature sculptures and learn about Limburg’s history- and geography. And it’s not just fun for the grown-ups, from an educational scavenger hunt to a workshop marl carving, there is plenty to do for the little ones! A visit to Mergelrijk is an experience for young and old!

The Steenkolenmijn Valkenburg in the Limburg city of Valkenburg in the municipality of Valkenburg aan de Geul is a lifelike reconstructed stone coal mine by, among other things, placing materials and machines from the closed coal mines. It is situated in part of the old marl quarry the Daalhemermatten. The entrance is on the Daalhemerweg. The Vogelbos is located behind and above the coal mine .

The Fluweelengrot is a system of tunnels in the Dutch municipality of Valkenburg aan de Geul . It was created by marl mining. The historic system of corridors is located on Daalhemerweg and is open for guided tours. To the northeast is the castle ruins with the Castle Quarry below, to the Southeast is the Wilhelmina Quarry under the Heunsberg and to the Southwest is the Kerkhofs Quarry. Also south of the Fluweelengrot is the Proeftunnel Daelhemerweg.

Valkenburg Castle is a ruined castle in Valkenburg aan de Geul, Netherlands. It is unique in the Netherlands in that it is the only castle in the country built on a hill. The castle is listed in the top hundred of Dutch cultural monuments.

Museum Valkenburg is a museum in the center of Valkenburg , in the Dutch province of Limburg . The museum is located in the former town hall and post office of Valkenburg, a building that has been a national monument since 1997 . The collection includes a number of very diverse collections in the fields of geology , Roman and medieval archaeology , local history and a modest collection of art .

The Gemeentegrot, in the Dutch Limburg town of Valkenburg is a limestone quarry where marl was extracted until the 1950s.The marl originated in the time when South Limburg was still a sea. This also explains the large amount of shells that are still in the marl. The Romans were already busy mining marl in the Municipal Cave, among others. The cave was mapped in the 1960s by G. Essers. Works of art in the form of drawings or sculptures have been placed in many places in the quarry.