Gulpen is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is approximately midway between the Dutch city of Maastricht and the German city of Aachen.Gulpen was a separate municipality until 1999, when it merged with Wittem. The newly formed municipality is called Gulpen-Wittem.The town itself derives its name from the river Gulp, which runs straight through the centre of the village and characterises the townscape.