Veghel
Dutch municipality 2 | name=Veghel | province=
North Brabant | map=LocatieVeghel.png |
area=78.92 | land=78.18 | water=0.74 |
population=36,881 | population_year=(2005) | density=472}}
Veghel is a
municipality and a town in the southern
Netherlands.
Since
1994 Veghel and the neighbouring village of
Erp have formed a single municipality.
Veghel is twinned with
Goch in
Germany.
*
Boerdonk*
Eerde (North Brabant)*
Erp*
Keldonk*
Mariaheide*
Veghel*
ZijtaartHistory
The first settlements date back to
Roman times and were established near the River
Aa. The municipality was officially founded in
1310 when Duke
John II of Brabant granted the inhabitants the right to use common grounds. Rulers of the municipality were the Lords of Erp, residing at their castle of Frisselsteijn in Veghel.
In
1648 Veghel became part of the
Republic of the Netherlands. As a former part of the
duchy of Brabant, Veghel is situated in the
Meierij of
's-Hertogenbosch. As a
Catholic village, Veghel (like all the other areas of Brabant and
Limburg which were transferred to the Netherlands by the
Peace of Westphalia) suffered economic and religious oppression from the Protestant Dutch and was counted part of the Dutch military boundary area.
It was not until the French wars of
1795 that Veghel became a free village again and received a guarantee of full common rights from the Dutch government. In
1810 Veghel became part of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands. From the middle of the
19th century the agrarian village began developing into an industrial village as a consequence of the opening of the
Zuid-Willemsvaart canal. The construction of large-scale buildings like the neogothic
church by
Pierre Cuypers and the neoclassical town hall dates from that period. Monastic orders made Veghel a regional centre of health care and education, which it remains to this day.
In
1940 Veghel was occupied by
German troops. With the beginning of
Operation Market Garden in
1944 Veghel was one of the dropping-places for Allied
paratroops owing to its strategic location.
The period since the
1950s has seen much growth, with the development of new industries and the establishment in Veghel of several international companies. Its shopping-centre and marketplace earned the town the name of "Pearl of the Meierij". Veghel is an educational centre for the surrounding district with several secondary schools, a senior secondary vocational school, and one of the oldest Higher Vocational schools in the area: the Pedagogic Academy, which was founded in
1872.
Local Festivals
Every November sees the celebration of the entry of St Nicholas (Sinterklaas), on the
1st of September the harbour festivals take place, and in February the traditional
carnival is held.
Sights
*The neogothic churh of St Lambert and its graveyard containing war graves
*The neorenaissance former town hall
*The gothic former synagogue (recently rebuilt)
*The Protestant Waterstaat church
*The
monastery of the order of the
Franciscans with its gardens and church
*
Official website
