{"id":15378,"date":"2018-04-09T06:12:09","date_gmt":"2018-04-09T04:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/plek\/station-houthem\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T20:22:44","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T18:22:44","slug":"station-houthem","status":"publish","type":"plek","link":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/plek\/station-houthem\/","title":{"rendered":"Sleeping by the tracks"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"template":"","plek_types":[91],"class_list":["post-15378","plek","type-plek","status-publish","hentry","plek_types-overnight-stay"],"acf":{"tekstkleur":false,"nummer":282,"kleur":"#fdc300","adres":{"address":"Van Caldenborghsweg 2, Valkenburg, Netherlands","lat":50.8737611,"lng":5.796012799999971},"straatnaam":"Van Caldenborghsweg 2","postcode":"6301 JK ","plaats":"Valkenburg","website":"www.halte-sg.nl","website_url":"http:\/\/www.halte-sg.nl\/","hotspot_naam":"Station Houthem-Sint Gerlach, Valkenburg","afbeelding":7099,"contactpersonen":"Marco van der Wal","email":"haltesg@gmail.com","telefoon":"06 50293100","videobox_contentblok":"","content":"Station Houthem lies on the railway line between Maastricht and Heerlen, running east to west \u2013 just like the Via Belgica, which runs only a few metres away. The Romans had already laid this road quite cleverly, on the border between wet and dry ground and with minimal relief. Centuries later, it still turned out to be the most convenient route for the railway.\r\n\r\nSpend the night in the oldest wooden station building in the Netherlands \u2013 it\u2019s possible in Houthem-Sint Gerlach. In 2012, this characteristic wooden house from 1903 was saved from demolition and transformed into a unique holiday home. The allure of the 1940s \u2013 the style on which the design of the building is based \u2013 has been fully restored, and the vintage interior adds to the authentic atmosphere.\r\n\r\nBehind the holiday home lies a small orchard with apple, pear, and plum trees \u2013 especially beautiful during blossom season. Next to the house, a vineyard is being planted. Grapes thrive on the chalky slopes of South Limburg, something the Romans already knew.","slideshow":[7645,7639,7642],"ontdekken_video_box":{"ontdekken_video_titel":"","ontdekken_video_paragraaf":"","ontdekken_video_iframe":""},"ontdekken_360_box":{"ontdekken_360_titel":"","ontdekken_360_paragraaf":"","ontdekken_360_iframe":""},"doen":[{"item":"Sleep in the oldest wooden station building in the country"},{"item":"Visit the beautiful Ch\u00e2teau St. Gerlach"}],"weten":[{"vraag":"Royal recognition","antwoord":"At the festive reopening of the renovated station building in 2015, there was a very special guest: Prof. Mr. Pieter van Vollenhoven. The occasion was the awarding of the Pieter van Vollenhoven Prize, given for successful heritage redevelopment projects. Preserving cultural heritage allows future generations to learn from it and enjoy it.."},{"vraag":"Wine in South Limburg","antwoord":"

Sunny hillsides, chalky soils, and a slightly warmer climate than elsewhere in the Netherlands make South Limburg ideal for viticulture. The Romans already discovered this 2,000 years ago when they settled here. Napoleon later eradicated winegrowing in the region to protect French wine. In recent decades, vineyards have returned, and their popularity is growing: new vineyards are planted every year.<\/p>"},{"vraag":"Fruity heritage","antwoord":"

Many fruit and nut trees that grow here today were first introduced by the Romans. Walnuts, cherries, chestnuts, and plums were previously unknown in this region. For centuries, these fruits have been part of the local cuisine of South Limburg. On a small scale, such as in the orchard next to Station Houthem, traditional tall fruit trees are still cultivated. This is the age-old method of fruit growing, dating back to Roman times, though in recent decades it has been almost entirely replaced by easier-to-harvest low-stem varieties.<\/p>"},{"vraag":"The road beneath the road","antwoord":"

The Romans were the first true road builders. Many of our roads still follow Roman predecessors. They never built roads arbitrarily: first, a surveyor was sent to determine the fastest and best route between two points. Romans disliked detours, and the Via Belgica runs fairly straight through South Limburg \u2013 at least, that is our assumption. Its exact course has only been established in a few places. In Voerendaal, even a complete cross-section of the road \u2013 cart tracks and all \u2013 has been excavated. You can view it in the Thermenmuseum in Heerlen.<\/p>"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek\/15378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/plek"}],"acf:attachment":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7642"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7639"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"plek_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viabelgica.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/plek_types?post=15378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}