Until well into the 19th century Brunssum was a small village of little importance. In the first decades of the 20th century two coal-mines opened and several settlements for miners were built, after which Brunssum became a real town with several Roman Catholic parishes.

The St. Gregorius de Grote is the central church of Brunssum and was built in 1961-1963 to replace a previous building. This remarkable modern church was designed by German architect G. Böhm.

In 1924-1925. the former hamlet of Rumpen, F.P.J. Peutz built his first church, the St. Vincentius á Paulo, which shows influences of Berlagian Rationalism.

The H. Familie is one of A.J.N. Boosten's last designs and was built in 1951-1952, when the architect had already died.

Municipal architect J. Brummen was obviously inspired by Boosten's work when he designed this church, the O.L. Vrouwe van Fatima. It dates from 1952-1953.

The village of Treebeek is part of the municipality of Brunssum and has several churches. One of these is this St. Barbara, built in 1919-1920 and designed by A.J. Kropholler. The original design included a tower which was not built. In 1951 the church was lengthened and given a new front, which obviously was also designed by Kropholler.

Behind the St. Barbara stands this small chapel, about which no further details are available.