History
In the center of Sittard is the smallest castle in the Netherlands. The former coach house Casa Mia, currently furnished as a house with Bed & Breakfast is located in the Parklaan, formerly known as Den Diek. In this street once stood the birthplace of Sittard's most famous inhabitant, Toon Hermans. Casa Mia has a rich history and is a municipal monument.
The miniature castle Casa Mia, a neo-Gothic castle-like structure on the (now overclosed) Geleenbeek, was built in 1903 by wine merchant Joseph Nicolas Rutten in his garden for his 2nd wife Anna Henriette Janssen. He has his business in the large building on the outskirts. The neo-Gothic turrets, the battlements and the wooden gate evoke memories of the medieval Limbrichterpoort. The open Geleenbeek used to walk past the little castle and therefore there was a bridge to the wooden gate. After his death in 1910, his widow married a real French count Géraud Anne Maria Louis Jules Rochechouart de la Rochejaquelin, so that the castle was then inhabited by a noble family. From 1927, Prince Hendrik, the husband of Queen Wilhelmina, regularly stays as a guest at the countess. In 1938, after a major renovation, the castle was made suitable as a house with office space. In 1965 the Geleenbeek was overcrowded and the canal disappeared. There are serious plans to open it again soon. Since 2017 we, Rob and Marja are the proud owners of this unique building. We have transformed the outdated Casa Mia into a mini castle where history, comfort and peace merge.
Sittard
The city of Toon Hermans (Dutch best known comedian) is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands and has a glorious past. In the year 1243 Sittard already received city rights, this year 775 years ago. From 1400 it is owned by the Dukes of Jülich. From 1798 to 1814 it is part of the French empire, as part of the Department of the Helm, with Aachen as its capital. In 1814 the Cossacks liberated the Sittardaries and in 1815 Sittard became the last city to become part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Yet it took a long time for the inhabitants to feel really Dutch, because in 1830 Sittard was one of the first cities where the Belgian independence was proclaimed and in 1848 many inhabitants worked vainly for renewed affiliation with Germany. In 1918, when the Belgians claim Dutch Limburg again, the Sittardeners are now fully established in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The city center has been a protected cityscape since 1972.