A Pocket History Gruitrode "Roy" (Roj)

In 1078 Gruitrode was referred to as Roda (Old German) and later Roth. When the village built a church under the patronage of Saint Gertrude, various prefixes were later added. The name over time evolved  from Roda, Roth, Gruytroede (1267), Grutrode, Gruterode, Grootrode to the present day Gruitrode.

• 1930 saw the village being made part of the administrative area of Maeseyck (Maaseik) with 1345 inhabitants

• 1977 it was fused in a council reorganisation with Meeuwen and called and now is officially called Meeuwen-Gruitrode. 

Today Gruitrode still keeps is own particular identity and is often referred to as "Roy" in the local dialect.

Belgian Limburg once belonged to the Bailiwick of Loon and was united with the Bishopdom of Liège in 1366, the judicial system remaining then German in origin. In 1795 it came under the French department of the Meuse-Inférieure (Lower Maas) and later in 1814-1815, became part of the province of Limburg in the Netherlands, being Belgian since 1830.