Sittard-Geleen

Sittard-Geleen
Zittert-Gelaen (Limburgish)
Sittard market square
Location in Limburg
Coordinates: 51°0′N 5°52′E / 51.000°N 5.867°E / 51.000; 5.867
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceLimburg
Established1 January 2001
Government
 • BodyMunicipal council
 • MayorHans Verheijen (CDA)
Area
 • Municipality
80.58 km2 (31.11 sq mi)
 • Land79.01 km2 (30.51 sq mi)
 • Water1.57 km2 (0.61 sq mi)
Elevation
47 m (154 ft)
Highest elevation
100 m (330 ft)
Population
 (Municipality, January 2021; Urban and Metro, May 2014)
 • Municipality
91,743
 • Density1,161/km2 (3,010/sq mi)
 • Urban
135,255
 • Metro
148,217
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
6120–6167
Area code046
Websitewww.sittard-geleen.nl

Sittard-Geleen (Dutch: [ˈsɪtɑrt xəˈleːn] ; Limburgish: Zittert-Gelaen [ˈzɪtəʀt xəˈlɛːn]) is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It was formed in 2001 from the former municipalities Sittard, Geleen and Born.

The combined municipality has approximately 92,650 inhabitants (January 2024) and is thus the third most populated municipality in Limburg (after Maastricht with 125,000 and Venlo with 103,000 inhabitants). Since February 2020, it has been governed by a coalition of CDA (Christian Democrats), GroenLinks (Green) and the local parties GOB and Stadspartij.

The highway connecting the centres of Sittard and Geleen, the Rijkswegboulevard, has been rebuilt to be a main route for cycling and walking. The provision for cyclists and pedestrians is generous and continuous. Side road junctions, or crossroads, are made 'subordinate'. The carriageways have been narrowed to one 3m lane in each direction. Parking places have been made, in small groups, at the side of the carriageways. These are made to be "not easy to use for larger vehicles," so the road centre is marked as a place for delivery vehicles to stop.

To the west, Sittard-Geleen borders on Belgium, while to the east, it borders on Germany.