Bern (formerly sometimes "Beern", "Berne", or "Beerne") is a hamlet in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

province of

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

. It is located in the municipality of

Zaltbommel Zaltbommel (), also known, historically and colloquially, as Bommel, is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. History The city of Zaltbommel The town of Zaltbommel was first mentioned as "Bomela" in the year 850. Zaltbommel received ...

, about south of the town Zaltbommel.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. Bern used to lie south of the river

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

, in the municipality of Herpt en Bern. The river was dammed close to Bern around 1900 (see

Afgedamde Maas The Afgedamde Maas (; Dammed-up Meuse) is a former distributary of the Maas River (French: Meuse) in the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Gelderland. The Maas splits near Heusden with one channel flowing north until its confluence with the ...

), and a new channel was dug south of the village, the Bergsche Maas. In 1958, the administrative borders were changed to account for this new situation, and Bern moved from the province of

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the w ...

to Gelderland, and to the municipality of

Kerkwijk Kerkwijk is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Zaltbommel, and lies about 11 km northwest of 's-Hertogenbosch. Kerkwijk was a separate municipality between 1818 and 1999, when it was merged with ...

. According to the 19th-century historian A.J. van der Aa, there used to be a castle in Bern, with a large tower and surrounded by walls. One of its owners, Fulco of Bern, made the castle into an abbey of the Premonstratensian order in 1134. It was inaugurated by the 25th bishop of Utrecht, Andreas of Cuyk. The abbey suffered during the

Iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...

in 1566, and was almost completely burnt down in 1589 during the siege of

Heusden Heusden () is a municipality and a town in the South of the Netherlands. It is located between the towns of Waalwijk and 's-Hertogenbosch. The municipality of Heusden, including Herpt, Heesbeen, Hedikhuizen, Doeveren, and Oudheusden, merged wit ...

by the Spanish army. It was never rebuilt, and in the middle of the 19th century, little remained of the Abbey of Bern. Bern is not a statistical entity, however it has its own postal code. In 1840, it was home to 60 people. Nowadays, it has about 13 houses.

Gallery

File:Overzicht voorzijde met smederij - Heeswijk - 20336325 - RCE.jpg, Former forge at Bern File:Huis Bern.jpg, Huis Bern File:Berneopgr1962.jpg, Excavation at the abbey (1962) File:Graftombe Ridder Arnold van der Sluijs.jpg, Tomb of , originally at the abbey. Nowadays on display at Museum Catharijneconvent

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Gelderland Zaltbommel