| Margraten Mergraote |
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| — Town and former municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Netherlands | ||
| Province | Limburg | ||
| Municipality | Eijsden-Margraten | ||
| Area(2006) | |||
| • Total | 57.70 km2 (22.3 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 57.70 km2 (22.3 sq mi) | ||
| • Water | 0.00 km2 (0 sq mi) | ||
| Population (1 January 2007) | |||
| • Total | 13,522 | ||
| • Density | 234/km2 (606.1/sq mi) | ||
| Source: CBS, Statline. | |||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
Margraten () (Limburgish: Mergraote) is a former municipality and a town in the southeastern Netherlands.
In Margraten is the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Europe's third largest war cemetery for unidentified soldiers who died in World War II. 8,301 soldiers are buried there under long rows of white crosses and stars of David. All graves are adopted by locals, who attend the graves and lay flowers every now and then. There have been regular visits here by soldiers who survived the war to visit a former comrade, hoping he's buried there somewhere. But now there are few left of them, so the once massive tributes are growing thin. President George W. Bush was the first American president who visited the cemetery, on 8 May 2005. Margraten is the final resting place for Lt. Colonel Robert G. Cole, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for action during the Normandy campaign in June, 1944.
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