| Merkelbeek | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Pushpin Map: | Netherlands#Netherlands Limburg |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Netherlands##Location in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Limburg |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Beekdaelen |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 81 |
| Area Total Km2: | 3.42 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 1,615 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 6447 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 045/046 |
Merkelbeek (Limburgan; Limburger; Limburgish: Merkelbek) is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Beekdaelen, about 9 km northwest of Heerlen.
The village was first mentioned in 1283 as Merkelbeke. The etymology is unclear.[3] Merkelbeek started in the Early Middle Ages along a brook and developed into a road village.[4]
The Catholic St Clemens Church is a three-aisled church with built-in tower with needle spire which was built between 1876 and 1878. In 1935, the choir was replaced by a transept and choir in Gothic Revival style.[4]
Merkelbeek was home to 309 people in 1840. It was a separate municipality until 1982, when it became part of Onderbanken. In 2019, it was merged into Beekdaelen.[5]