The municipality of Beek makes part of the region of South Limburg and lies between the city of Geleen in the north and Maastricht in the south, and lies furthermore southeast of interchangeKerensheide and the chemical industries of Chemelot. It has a slightly hilly landscape with altitudes differing between 70 and 120 metres (230 and 390 ft) above sea level, and has two small forests: Kelmonderbos between Beek and Kelmond, and Spaubekerbos near Spaubeek. The Keutelbeek flows through and has its source in the municipality of Beek.
Population centres
Settlements in the municipality of Beek (population within brackets on 1 January 2005).
In 1982, Spaubeek merged with Beek and the municipality got his current size. In 2005, an archaeological site was found between Beek and Neerbeek, consisting of the remainings of a settlement from 5,000 BC. Because of this, Beek is considered the eldest village in the Netherlands.
Buildings
Noteworthy buildings:
Sint-Hubertusmolen, (Mill of Saint Hubertus) in Klein Genhout, dated 1801-1802
Sint-Hubertuskerk, (Church of Saint Hubertus) in Groot Genhout, by architect Alphons Boosten
Kasteel Genbroek, a castle near Geverik
Transportation
The municipality of Beek is surrounded by A2 motorway (Amsterdam-Belgian border) in the west and A76 motorway (Belgian border-German border) in the north.