Echt-Susteren

Member of the Dutch National Network

On 7 November 2015, the municipality of Echt-Susteren was named the eighth Cittaslow urban centre in the Netherlands. To counter the stresses and strains of our fast-paced lives, the municipality of Echt-Susteren offers balance in the form of reflection, relaxation, and recreation. The aim is to become a municipality that creates a pleasant place to live, work, and visit for residents, entrepreneurs, and guests alike.

Active centres
The municipality consists of nine towns and villages: Echt, Pey, Sint Joost, Maria-Hoop, Koningsbosch, Susteren, Roosteren, Dieteren, and Nieuwstadt. These centres are both attractive and vibrant thanks to an abundance of municipal facilities, medical centres, community centres, and associations, of which it boasts more than three hundred.

Versatile nature
The municipality is also known for its varied countryside. Echt-Susteren has a beautifully green and rural setting, with six radically different landscapes created by the rivers Meuse and Rhine. The municipality's outlying areas are characterized by a fascinating variation between river valleys, ancient reclaimed areas, and high plateaus.

Accessible
The accessibility of the municipality is excellent. Echt-Susteren has two railway stations and excellent links via road and water. The municipality also has an extensive network of roads and paths for cyclists, walkers, and horse riders. It also has six airports within an hour's drive.

Cooperation in the heart of Europe
Echt-Susteren automatically looks beyond national boundaries, forging links with towns and villages across the nearby borders. With Maaseik in Belgium to the west and the German municipalities of Waldfeucht and Selfkant to the east, Echt-Susteren has more foreign borders than internal ones. Because we are located in a part of the Netherlands that is just 4.8 kilometres wide, with Belgium on one side and Germany on the other, it's understandable why this area is referred to as the narrowest part of the Netherlands, where enjoyment and quality of life take centre stage. Echt-Susteren has always been and will always be a municipality with a strong focus on cross-border orientation and collaboration.

Home-grown
The main tourist and leisure activities are cycling, walking, and eating out. In that respect, Echt-Susteren has plenty to offer, with more than 250 kilometres of cycling and hiking routes and numerous charming restaurants. There is a strong emphasis on regional products; and with the local Livar pork, full-bodied beer like Kruijens Kracht and cheese from Nieuwstadt, and traditional Limburg sweet tarts (vlaai) from the bakeries, the municipality offers a variety of high-quality regional products that are well-known throughout the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. The municipality's leisure facilities include a range of accommodations, a golf course, a public swimming pool, and several large playgrounds. All of these are made possible with the help of local entrepreneurs.

For more information, visit www.echt-susteren.nl/cittaslow.

Slow food Convivum:

Slow food Limburg
Wijershoflaan 1
6042 NK Roermond
The Netherlands
Chairman Erik Kaptein
Limburg@slowfood.nl

Typical local products
The municipality offers a variety of high-quality regional products that are well-known throughout the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. Some regional products are the local Livar pork, full-bodied beer like Kruijens Kracht and cheese from Nieuwstadt, and traditional Limburg sweet tarts (vlaai) from the bakeries.

Projects
The municipality is working on several projects that fit the Cittaslow philosophy. A couple of examples are:
Solar panels on top of the town hall
LED-streetlights
Neighborhood watch teams (initiated by civilians)
Social neighborhood teams (for care and support close by civilians)
To achieve all this we collaborate with citizens, entrepreneurs and village councils.

Contacts:

Jos Hessels - Mayor of Echt-Susteren
burgemeester@echt-susteren.nl

Nicole Vranken - Bakkes - Representative Cittaslow
echt-Susterenn.vranken@echt-susteren.nl