Henri Sarolea

His house in Heerlen was located close to where today there is a major railway crossing which did not exist when Henri moved there.

A few years earlier an industrial and mining family from Aachen, the Honingmann family bought a concession to mine for coal around Heerlen, but it proved to be impossible to ship the coal over the small roads around Heerlen.

When they found out that Henri Sarolea was planning to build a railroad the brothers Friedrich (1841-1913) and Carl Honingmann (1842-1903) realised that it was time exploit the rich coal veins of Heerlen.

Henri, convinced that the mines would change Heerlen for good, even became a member of the board of directors of the Oranje Nassau Mijnen, the public name of the company.

The Saroleastraat (Sarolea Street) runs from the train station into the heart of Heerlen's shopping neighbourhood.