Mining colonies in South Limburg: social housing

In 1911 the priest-politician Dr H. Poels founded the Vereniging Ons Limburg (Society Our Limburg) that was intended as a service organisation for promoting community development in the mining region of South-Limburg. The most important role his society played was to serve as an umbrella organisation for the various small social housing societies and social welfare organisations that has sprung up in Limburg after the Social Housing Bill (Woningwet) of 1901 was implemented.

The Society Our Limburg assisted both organisations on religious principles (read: catholic) as well as organisations founded by unions, corporations and local government. The emphasis was always on the improvement of living conditions and the betterment of the lower classes and housing therefore was a priority, together with clean water and community health care provision (i.e. The Green Cross and the White-Yellow Cross).

The first housing completed under the auspices of Our Limburg was De Eerste Stap (literally: The First Step) in Hoensbroek -now a borough of Heerlen- in 1913. The organisation also coordinated the completion of the Eikenderveld Estate in Heerlen built between 1911-12 for railway workers. An important break from the factory housing provided by the mining companies was that these housing estates were inspired by Garden City Movement ideals on social housing for the working classes. Most housing provided was segregated with streets devoted to certain income classes as advocated by the catholic clergy. The erection of schools and a chapel or church was always part of the intensions, although in some cases these would not be built at all or much later.

Other housing estates built under auspices of Our Limburg aimed at housing miners are: 't Eikske (1913, Orange-Nassau II), Colony Schaesberg (1913-18, Orange-Nassau Mine II), Tuindorp Treebeek (1913-18, State Mine Emma), Tempsplein (1913, Orange-Nassau Mine I), Ganzeweide* (1914-20, Orange-Nassau Mine IV), In den Bodem (1915-23, State Mine Hendrik), Schuttersveld (1918-21, State Mine Hendrik), Kloosterkolonie (1915, State Mine Emma), Colony Rozegaard* (1915-19, State Mine Hendrik), Heilust* (1915-20, Willem-Sofia), Kolonie Nieuw Einde* (1917-25, Carisborg Lignite Mine), De Passart (1918, State Mine Emma), Terwinselen-Dorp (1918-1930, State Mine Wilhelmina), Versiliënbosch (1920, Orange-Nassau Mine IV),  Molenberg (1919-27, Orange-Nassau Mine I), Meezenbroek (1920-25, Orange-Nassau Mine II) De Egge (1920, State Mine Hendrik), De Wingerd (1925, State Mine Emma), Langeberg (1929-30, State Mine Hendrik),  Lauradorp (1929-31, Mining Corporation Laura and Julia), Maria-Christinawijk (1942-47, Orange-Nassau Mine IV), Gracht (1915-35 and 1955, Willem-Sofia) and Mariarade (1945-49, State Mine Emma).

The Colony Musschemig erected as company housing between 1904-06 for Orange-Nassau Mine I should be seen as a precursor to social housing along Garden City Ideals. This colony of semidetached, single-storey white cottages makes an effort to create a semi-rural living environment to accommodate new migrant workers (assumed to be of a rural background). In contrast another example of company housing Kolonie De Hopel (1906-10, extended 1930) was built inspired by Garden City Ideals, but functioned as a mining colony controlled by the mining company Laura & Julia. Although very beautiful, and recently restored, De Hopel lacks any of the spatial characteristics of Unwinesque garden city design. As such it is a colony with housing in a vernacular style. Something similar can be said of colonies 't Eikske and Gracht.

After 1900 the spoil heaps take off and grow steadily into artificial hills that dominate the hilly landscape. Most mines had a spoil heap on or near the colliery site. Examples are: Steenstort Laura (Ss), Steenhoop Julia (Sh), Steenberg Terwinselen (St) of State Mine Wilhelmina, MIjnsteenberg Willem-Sofia (Ms) and the Heksenberg (Hb) of Orange-Nassau Mine IV. Other mines had spoil heaps at some distance at the end of a railway or transport line: spoil heap Berenbos (Bb) of the Domanial Mines, the enormous Koumerberg (Kb) for the Orange-Nassau Mines I, II and III. Of these spoil heaps only the one in Terwinselen survives (as a skiing slope). The Heksenberg will be removed to extract the silicate sands beneath. All other spoil heaps were dismantled after the closure of the mines. The material was used to fill in former lignite surface mines or as the base material for the concrete and asphalt industries. A small part of the Koumerberg survives as a park. The spoil heap at Berenbos was capped to fill in the adjacent lignite quarry Anna and the remaining low hill was planted as a park.

The social housing for miners aggregates around the collieries and lignite quarries. These surface mines were abandoned after the 1960s and in part replaced by sand quarries. The lignite mines were: Brunahilde (BH), Kleiberg or Brunahilde II (K), Energy (E),Carisborg (C),Vrieheide or Carisborg II (V), Herman (H) and Anna (A).The social housing extends throughout the mining region: Musschemig (1), Eikenderveld (2), Tempsplein (3), Meezenbroek (4), Molenberg (5), Schaesberg (6), 't Eikske (7), Terwinselen-Dorp (8), Heilust (9), Gracht (10), De Hopel (11), Lauradorp (12), Heksenberg (13), Maria-Christinawijk (14), Ganzeweide (15), Versiliënbosch (16), Nieuw Einde (17), Langeberg (18), Schuttersveld (19), De Egge (20), Roozegaard (21), In den Bodem (22), Treebeek (23), Kloosterrade-Mariarade (24), De Passart (25), De Eerste Stap (26), De Wingerd (27) and Stationskolonie (28). There is a clear lack of social housing by Ons Limburg in Kerkrade.

These mining colonies of social housing would strongly direct the urban development of Brunssum, Hoensbroek, Heerlerheide, Heerlen, Schaesberg, Nieuwenhagen, Waubach, Ubach over Worms, Eygelshoven, Blijerheide, Chevremont, Spekholzerheide and Kerkrade into the current conurbation stat was renamed Parkstad (City of Parks) after the mines closed. Before then it was known as the Oostelijke Mijnstreek (Mining Region East). The area around State Mine Maurits in Geleen and Beek was analogously called Westelijke Mijnstreek (Mining Region West).

All colonies no longer in existence have been indicated by *.