Limburg mijn Vaderland

Limburg mijn Vaderland (Limburg my Fatherland) is the national anthem of the Netherlands and the Belgian province of Limburg. The lyrics of the song was written by Gerard Krekelberg (1864-1937) in 1909. The melody comes from Hendrik Thyssen ( 1862-1926 ). Thyssen was born in Roermond and wrote in 1912 the local city anthem Oud en trouw Roermond.

In Belgian Limburg, of course, the 1939 added the fourth stanza, in which loyalty to the House of Orange -Nassau is Summoned, not sung.

The hymn had a clear political intention to emphasize the affiliation of the country to the Netherlands Limburg. Although the local dialect, the Limburg, is considered by some as a separate language, the anthem of the country happens to be written in Dutch standard language.

The province of Limburg, situated in the extreme southeastern tip of the country, has been and will ( though often rather jokingly ) not viewed both by its residents as well as the other Dutchmen as "real " part of the Netherlands. The population is Catholic, not reformed, the landscape is hilly, the streets and buildings of the old city are made of natural stone, not built of brick and the Limburg is the residents of the other provinces almost incomprehensible.

At the time of writing the poem, in 1900, the Dutch played no role in the Limburg everyday life. The region was spoken almost exclusively Limburg. Newspapers published until well into the 20th century (also) in German, in many parts of Limburg German was the language in churches and schools. The capital city of Maastricht was, however, still closely linked to the ( Francophone ) Province of Liege.

The use of the Dutch language and in particular the text of the fourth verse should therefore give a sign of belonging to the Netherlands.