Rent a Home in Kerkrade

Kerkrade is built on coal. Within four square kilometers, there were three coal mines: the Domaniale Mijn at Nulland, the Willem-Sophia in Spekholzerheide, and the Staatsmijn Wilhelmina in Terwinselen. In 1966, the Domaniale mine alone employed over 2,500 people, both underground and above ground. Around the shafts, colliery workers' settlements arose: terraced houses with gardens, built by mining companies for their laborers. In 1965, the government decided to close all Limburg mines. The last coal was extracted in 1969 and 1970. The mines are gone. The houses remain. Anyone considering renting a home in Kerkrade will be renting in a city built for an industry that no longer exists.

The municipality has approximately 45,500 inhabitants (2025). In 1995, this was still almost 53,000. Kerkrade is shrinking, just like the rest of Parkstad Limburg. This has been the case for thirty years, and forecasts do not indicate a reversal. For the rental market, this means something you don't find in the Randstad: there's supply. Competition is lower, choice is greater, and time pressure is less. This makes renting a home in Kerkrade intrinsically different from most Dutch cities. At the same time, the municipality is investing in the demolition and transformation of outdated homes. The supply is becoming smaller but better. The city is located on the border with Germany, fused with Herzogenrath. Heerlen is the neighboring city. Aachen is a fifteen-minute train ride away. Maastricht is forty-five minutes away. Kerkrade has five train stations still in use, more than many cities three times its size.

De Hopel: The Miners' Colony That Became a National Monument

De Hopel is a miners' colony on the border of Eygelshoven and Kerkrade, built between 1906 and 1910 by mining company Laura & Vereeniging. Forty-six houses in eleven different types, the first 27 designed by German architect A. Reichpietsch. Three houses have clock gables. In 1979, the entire colony was granted national monument status. It is a so-called white colony: homes with ample greenery and spacious gardens, intended for better-off miners and officials.

Eygelshoven itself was an independent municipality until 1982. It still has its own dialect, Egelzer plat, which differs significantly from Kerkraads. Eygelshoven Markt station, opened in 2007, is located on the Heuvelland Line. The village has about 8,400 inhabitants and functions as a more or less independent part of Kerkrade. De Hopel is its architectural highlight, but the rest of Eygelshoven primarily offers post-war single-family homes in a quiet, village-like setting.

Modern family home (120m²) with garden in Haanrade

€1,450 / month

Meuserstraat, Kerkrade

3

120 m²

5/1/2026

Townhouse

Spacious living with garage in Kloosterpark

€1,245 / month

Pensionaatstraat 32, Kerkrade

3

140 m²

2/16/2026

Semi-detached House

Bleijerheide and Nulland: From Shaft to Circular Building

Bleijerheide, named after Hoeve de Blij from 1474, is the district literally fused with Germany. On the eastern side, the development merges into Herzogenrath without you noticing. The Domaniale Mine operated beneath this area. Nothing remains of the mine; the last building was demolished on June 19, 1971.

What does remain is Schacht Nulland: built in 1907, designed by architect Theo Wilhelm Husmann, originally sixty meters deep as a ventilation shaft, later deepened to 347 meters. In 1921, it was raised with a hoisting machine and arch supports. It is a national monument and the most visible remnant of mining in Kerkrade.

The most notable housing project in Bleijerheide is SUPERLOCAL: a circular area development where materials from two demolished 1960s high-rise flats are reused for approximately 130 new homes. The project is estimated to save one million kilograms of CO₂ and is co-financed by the EU. It is a pioneering project in the Netherlands and illustrates how Kerkrade deals with its shrinkage challenge: not just demolishing, but smart reuse.

Terwinselen: Where the Oldest State Mine Stood

The Staatsmijn Wilhelmina in Terwinselen was the oldest and smallest state mine in the Netherlands. Operational from 1906, closed on August 1, 1969. Two shafts, the deepest 823 meters. In total, over 59 million tons of coal were extracted. The mine had its own anthracite factory. The mining damage was so severe that in 1939, the church building had to be repaired due to subsidence.

Nothing remains of the mine above ground. What does exist: the Kerkrade Botanical Garden, an English landscape garden that is a national monument. Terwinselen is a quiet residential area with predominantly post-war buildings. The homes are modest in size, built at a time when space and luxury were not priorities.

Chevremont and Gracht: Slopes, Stairs, and Hollow Roads

Chevremont owes its name to French: steep mountain with a descent to a hollow road. The name does not lie. You have to drive up the hill to enter the neighborhood. The miners' colonies here were built from 1919, near the hamlets of Chevremont and Vink. It is a neighborhood with a close-knit structure: its own football club, its own church, the kind of community that has disappeared in larger cities.

Gracht, a little further on towards the German border, is even steeper. The name means hollow road, and that's exactly what you'll find. Houses cling to the slopes. In some places, you need stairs to get from the street to your front door. It's not for everyone, but it creates a streetscape you won't find anywhere else in the Netherlands.

Haanrade: The Border Village Without a Mining Past

Haanrade is located on the River Worm, the border river between the Netherlands and Germany established at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The village has no mining past like the other districts. The environment is greener and more open: the Steenberg, the Berenbos, the Carisborg nature reserve. Erenstein Castle, fourteenth-century with an authentic moat, lies in the Anstel Valley. GaiaZOO, twice voted the most beautiful zoo in the Netherlands, directly borders it. Haanrade is the part of Kerkrade that least resembles Kerkrade. Those seeking peace and nature within the municipal boundaries will find it here.

The rental market in Kerkrade requires a different approach than in the Randstad. The urgency is lower, the supply is greater, and the time pressure is less. This does not mean that every home is up for grabs. The better homes in desirable neighborhoods such as Eygelshoven and Chevremont will also go to the fastest responder here. Set up a search alert so you see new listings immediately. Have income verification and identification ready. And take the time to visit the neighborhoods before you choose. In a city where every neighborhood has its own mining past, its own slope, and its own dialect, the neighborhood matters more than the house.