Witch Mountain

The Heksenberg is the highest point of the Brunssummerheide, on the side of Heerlen and Brunssum. This nature reserve is managed by Natuurmonumenten.
Although the name of this mountain is reminiscent of old women with black cats who made magical mixtures with plants and herbs from nature, the history of this mountain is a bit different.
The Heksenberg and the Landgraaf
With a height of about 145 meters above sea level, the Heksenberg clearly stands out against its surroundings, which are a good 40 meters lower. The summit is therefore slightly lower than that of the spoil heap of the Oranje-Nassau IV (about 152 meters above sea level).
The soil of the Brunssummerheide consists of sparse cover sands and silver sands. An important reason why this area has never been reclaimed for agriculture.
On the east side of the Heksenberg is the Landgraaf. This construction of ramparts and ditches was built in the 15th century as a border reinforcement of the Land of Valkenburg. In the 15th century, this area belonged to the Duchy of Brabant.
On the other side of the border was the county of Heinsberg, which became part of the Duchy of Jülich at the end of the 15th century. At the time, Jülich and Brabant were formidable competitors of each other and were always looking to expand their territory.
At that time, the Brunssummerheide and Teverenerheide formed a wild and inhospitable forest and heath area, where the wolf would also have been present.
Thanks to archaeological research, we know that the Landgraaf in its functional years consisted of a pointed moat, with an average depth of 2.2 metres and a width of 6.4 metres.
With the moved soil, embankments were built on both sides of the ditch, so that the total width covers about 20 to 22 meters. On top of the ramparts, impenetrable hedges of thorn-bearing shrubs have been planted and intertwined.
The function of the Landgrave
The Landgraaf had several functions. On the one hand, it was an obstacle for enemy army troops and marauding gangs, who were forced to use the guarded transit locations on their route. The Heksenberg is located next to the main road from Maastricht via Ten Esschen to Geilenkirchen and served as a vantage point in times of danger. Moreover, there was a gallows on top of the mountain, to make it clear that you could not go about your business with impunity in the Land of Valkenburg.
The Landgrave protected people, livestock and crops from wild boars and wolves. But above all, it was a clear and practical separation between private property and communal forest and heathland, on which residents of the surrounding villages could graze their cattle. In addition, they were allowed to cut sods, cut down trees and collect litter. A similar situation existed on the Graetheide between Stein and Geleen and the Meinweg near Vlodrop.
Legend of the Hessenberg
According to a well-known folk tale, the Germanic people moved up the Hesse towards Heerlen about 2000 years ago. The Romans who were stationed here went to meet the Hessians across the Schrieversheide towards the Brunssummerheide. This is where the Romans were massacred.
After the battle, their corpses were burned. The ashes were collected, placed in urns, and then placed in a burial mound. This would have been the Hessenberg. Colloquially, this name was changed to Witch Mountain, referring to the infamous women who celebrated the witches' sabbath
.
Did you know?
The Roode Beek owes its name to the battle against the Romans? The blood of the many dead and wounded of the battle would have flowed into the stream and stained the water permanently red. Fortunately, we now know better. This is because the water is rust-coloured because the soil, and especially the groundwater, contains a lot of iron locally. This is harmless, by the way.

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