Chaam () is a village 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

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 we ...

. It is located in the municipality of Alphen-Chaam, about 13 km southeast of

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1236 as de Cambe, and probably means beer brewery. Chaam is a road village which developed in the Middle Ages. The Dutch Reformed church was a gothic church from the 16th century. After the destruction on 28 October 1944 by the Germans, only a part was reconstructed. Of the richly decorated tower, only the pear-shared spire and the bell from 1392 could be saved, and a new tower could not be financed; however, it has been placed next to the church. The Catholic Saint Anthony Abt was built between 1925 and 1926. Its tower was blown up in 1944 as well. It was restored and enlarged in 1948, and has been made to resemble the tower of the Dutch Reformed church. Before the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...

(1830-1831), Chaam was the geographic centre of the

Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

. It was home to 396 people in 1840. Chaam was a separate municipality until 1997, when it was merged with Alphen.

Sport

Chaam organises annually on the first Wednesday after the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

, the

Acht van Chaam Acht van Chaam ( en, Eight of Chaam) is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in Chaam, Netherlands. The first edition was in 1932 and since 1992 the event also includes a women's race. Results Men S ...

, a cycling

criterium A criterium, or crit, is a bike race consisting of several laps around a closed circuit, the length of each lap or circuit ranging from about 400 m to 10,000 m. Overview Race length can be determined by a number of laps or total time ...

for professional cyclists.

Gallery

File:Chaam, de Antonius Abtkerk IMG 9522 2021-06-14 14.46.jpg, Catholic church: Saint Anthony Abt File:Brouwerij Chaam P1120210.jpg, Brewery of Chaam File:Toren vanuit het westen - Chaam - 20046752 - RCE.jpg, Former tower of the Dutch Reformed church (1907) File:Vineyard Dassemus (Chaam, Netherlands, July 2020) - 2 (50522232027).jpg, Vineyard in Chaam

References

{{Authority control Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 1997 Populated places in North Brabant Former municipalities of North Brabant Alphen-Chaam