Gulperberg

The Gulperberg rises directly east of Gulpen, the northernmost spur of the Plateau van Crapoel, and its summit at 157 metres gives one of the classic views of the South Limburg hill country. The slope drops steeply to the village, so from the top you look down on Gulpen's rooftops, the Gulp valley and the patchwork of meadows, orchards and woods that make this corner of the Netherlands so unlike the rest of the country.

On the summit stands the Mariamonument, a concrete statue of the Virgin Mary from 1935, designed by the sculptor Charles Vos and the architect Piet Gerrits. Wayside shrines and chapels are everywhere in Catholic Limburg, and this one, set high above the village, is the best known in Gulpen. Since 2016 the tops of both the western and eastern climbs have also carried a memorial to Jean Nelissen, the Limburg cycling journalist.

Cycling is a large part of the hill's identity. Three roads lead up. The western climb, the Gulperberg road from Gulpen, is 1,100 metres long with 57 metres of height gain, averaging 5.2 per cent but touching 19 per cent at its steepest. The eastern climb, the Bergweg from the hamlet of Partij, is shorter and steeper on average: 600 metres at 9.8 per cent, with a maximum of 15 per cent. The gentlest route is the Koning van Spanje, 1,600 metres at an average of 4 per cent. Its name, King of Spain, goes back to the Eighty Years' War, when the Spanish king is said to have occupied the hill for a time. The western and eastern climbs have featured several times in the Amstel Gold Race, and the hill was part of a stage of the Eneco Tour in 2014.

The Gulperberg also has a place in Dutch music history. On 26 May 1969 a free festival called Pinknick drew around 20,000 people to the hill. The following year it moved to Geleen and became Pinkpop, now one of the oldest annual pop festivals in Europe.

For walkers the hill is an easy half-day outing from the village centre, with the reward of a wide view at the top. It pairs naturally with the Gulp and Geul valleys below and with the Gulpener brewery in the village. Cyclists come to test themselves on the climbs that feature in the spring classics.