Kerkrade-Herzogenrath

Countries: Germany , Netherlands
Regions concerned: Netherlands – Town of Kerkrade; Germany – Town of Herzogenrath (District of Cologne)

Overview

The towns of Kerkrade and Herzogenrath form in equal proportions a cross-border cross-border conurbation of around 100,000 inhabitants. This conurbation, also known as “Eurode” lies in the heart of a larger cross-border urban area, the principal towns of which are Heerlen, Maastricht (Netherlands) and Aachen (Germany). Together with Hasselt and Liège (Belgium) these towns form the “MAHHL Cities” cross-border network. This cross-border conurbation with a continuous urban fabric is only separated by a single street (the Neustrasse/Nieuwstraat). Today, the inhabitants of the two towns share a joint urban space and both municipalities have chosen to pool a certain number of services.

A very integrated cross-border territory

The proximity of Kerkrade and Herzogenrath and their similarity on a demographic level does not preclude a certain number of difficulties, which must be managed jointly. The settling of numerous Germans in the Dutch municipality is one of the starting points for cross-border cooperation between the two cities.

Indeed, property prices have risen so much that the Dutch inhabitants were left unable to purchase accommodation. In order to resolve this problem, the inhabitants of Kerkrade were allowed to build houses on the German side under the same conditions as those practised on the Dutch side. The new German inhabitants of experienced difficulties integrating in Kerkrade and continued to use public services in Herzogenrath. In order to overcome this, the Dutch municipality set up bilingual classes in the town’s schools (the "Eurobabel" project).

Both municipalities have thus undertaken a number of cross-border projects aiming to enhance cross-border integration, notably concerning urban development as with the renovation of the border street Neustrasse/Nieuwstraat (from 1993 to 1995), the creation of a technology park (Technology Park Herzogenrath) and a cross-border business centre (Eurode Business Center) in 1997. With regard to public services, the two towns signed an agreement in 1996 on cooperation between the emergency and fire-fighting services; then in 2002, a joint police station was established.

In 2003, the Eurode Business Center celebrated the first “Cross-border Workers’ Day.”

In 2008, the Herzogenrath railway station was renamed “Eurode-Bahnhof” (“Eurode Station.”

In 2012, a cross-border information centre was opened.