Limburg is the most southern province of the Netherlands, encompassing the eastern part of the historical region of Limburg or Limbourg - the other part forms the namesake province of Belgium. Limburg is different from the rather flat rest of the Netherlands as it is remarkably hilly, it remains predominantly Catholic (while the majority of the country is Protestant).
The capital of the Dutch Limburg is Maastricht, famous for its medieval old town and the namesake treaty signed there, which basically created the European Union.
Limburg stretches from south to north over three regions:
Most people (roughly 78%) in Limburg speak Limburgish in every day life, a regional language closely related to Dutch and German. Dutch is the official language used for practically all forms of official (and most unofficial) written communication. In the larger cities, Dutch is also the main colloquial language. The majority of the people furthermore speak English and German with various levels of fluency. Some French is spoken in areas near the border with Wallonia.
The Dutch railway serves Limburg with regional branches and intercity-branches to Amsterdam and The Hague. German railway links connect Heerlen to Aachen and Venlo to Mรถnchengladbach by local trains. Maastricht is connected to Liege in Belgium by local train.
Arriva operates the local railway concession in Limburg, as well as the numerous regional and municipal bus lines within the province.
A typical Limburg food is the Limburgse vlaai, which is a sweet pie which originally comes from Weert.
Limburg is famous in the Netherlands for its local beer. The known local brands of beer in Limburg are:
Limburg is at "the corner of Europe", with long borders with Belgium and Germany. You can use it as a starting point to exploring many different regions: