A nostalgic train ride through the hills, a collection at Huize Loreto monastery and a walk to a Roman find give Simpelveld very different facets. There is also church architecture and a former watermill. You can make culture, railway history and outdoor activities the focus of your trip in their own right.
By heritage railway and bike
The old station building at Simpelveld Station dates from 1908 and is the centrepiece of the De Miljoenenlijn heritage railway. From Simpelveld Station, the railway offers a nostalgic train ride through the hills of Zuid-Limburg. A guided tour of the site takes about 45 minutes and also includes the signal box and workshop. The train ride and the tour offer different highlights: one focuses on the journey through the landscape, while the other offers a look inside the signal box and workshop.
The Parkstad Route is about 34 km long and runs as a cycling and walking trail between Beekdaelen and Simpelveld, ending at the railway site in Simpelveld. It connects the regional route network with Germany's Vennbahn and Belgium's Kolenspoor. Another cycling option is the “Romeins Simpelveld en Voerendaal” route, which starts at the Miljoenenlijn car park between cycle junctions 88 and 89. The cycle junction network makes it easy to find your way.
Art, architecture and mill history
Museum de Schat van Simpelveld is housed in the stately Huize Loreto monastery. Its collection includes exceptionally fine 19th- and 20th-century embroideries, known as needle painting, as well as paintings, gold chalices, wax figures and medieval sculptures. The variety of works gives the monastery collection its own breadth, from fine textile art to historical figures and sacred objects.
Sint Remigiuskerk is a three-aisled cross basilica with a west tower, designed in traditionalist forms with Romanesque influences. Its furnishings include a communion rail, a 19th-century pulpit and an 18th-century organ gallery. The gallery rests on columns made of Naamer stone. Two 19th-century confessionals are also part of the church interior.
The Oude Molen, a former watermill whose origins date back to 1774, lies west of Simpelveld. The mill register records that the Oude Molen had a waterwheel five metres in diameter in a covered extension of the mill house.
Walking among Roman finds and landscapes
The “Romeinse hoogtepunten in Simpelveld” walking route passes the findspot of the Dame van Simpelveld, one of the most significant Roman finds in the Netherlands. The route is 8.4 km long and takes about two hours. After a strenuous climb, you reach a viewpoint overlooking fields that the Romans developed extensively for agriculture. The distance, approximate duration and climb each offer a different point of reference when planning this walk. The separate “Plateau Huls Simpelveld” walking route is rated difficult; bear this rating in mind when comparing the two walking options.
The landscape behind Loreto monastery is also linked to religious heritage: it features a wooded slope with a Lourdes grotto, a ruined chapel, fourteen Stations of the Cross and a well-maintained cemetery for the monastery's sisters. You can reach the site via Rodeput and the Hoogenberg footpath. After 200 metres, you come to a gate; a path from there leads to the Lourdes grotto, the chapel and the Stations of the Cross. Simpelveld also has a network of walking and cycling routes where you can choose your own route and distance. The wider region of Land van Kalk stretches from Aachen through Simpelveld to Voerendaal and provides a habitat for special plants and animals.
Discover more destinations: Bocholtz.
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