Empel is a village and former municipality, which is now a

quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25. Quarter or quarters may refer to: Places * Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town Placenames * Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland * Le Quartier, a settlement ...

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

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 ...

History

Archaeological evidence shows Celtic and Roman traces in the area. The site of a Roman temple was of special interest. Empel en Meerwijk Castle sign

In medieval times there were two Lordships (

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 1800. ...

) in the area. The Lordship of Empel and the Lordship of Meerwijk, but as they were always in one hand, they became known as Lordship of Empel en Meerwijk. The center was in the village now called Oud-Empel.

Empel en Meerwijk Castle Empel en Meerwijk Castle was a medieval castle just north of 's-Hertogenbosch. All that's left is a terrain where the castle outlines have been visualized. Early History Name of the castle The castle was the original seat of the Lords of Emp ...

, the seat of the Lord of Empel en Meerwijk, was in an area called 'Het Slot', Dutch for 'The Castle'. When Empel village was moved later on, it came to lie inside the new Empel village. During the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

the area suffered greatly, because it was in the frontline from 1579 till 1609, and then again from 1621-1629. Empel village was even abandoned for some decades, and the Castle was probably also ruined in these years. In 1585 the

Battle of Empel The Miracle of Empel (''Milagro de Empel'' in Spanish) was an unexpected Spanish victory on December 8, 1585, near Empel, in the Netherlands, as part of the Eighty Years' War, in which a surrounded Spanish force won against an enemy who excee ...

was named for the village now called Oud-Empel. In the eighteenth century the owner of the castle built a new manor

Meerwijk Castle Meerwijk Castle is a Tudor Revival Style mansion on the east bank of the Dieze river just north of 's-Hertogenbosch. It was preceded by Meerwijk Manor, built on the same location. Medieval Meerwijk Castle In the former municipality of Empel en ...

at Dieskant on the Dieze, hastening the decay of the medieval castle. During the

French period In Northern European historiography, the term French period (french: Période française, german: Franzosenzeit, nl, Franse tijd) refers to the period between 1794 and 1815 during which most of Northern Europe was controlled by Republican or Napo ...

the lordships were abolished, and the new municipality of Empel en Meerwijk was formed, with Empel village on the Meuse as seat of the municipal government. In the closing phases of World War II Empel village on the Meuse dyke was heavily damaged. Its Catholic church was subsequently demolished. From about 1949 the village with church was rebuilt as an

Angerdorf __NOTOC__ An ''Angerdorf'' (plural: ''Angerdörfer'') is a type of village that is characterised by the houses and farmsteads being laid out around a central grassed area, the ''anger'' (from the Old High German ''angar'' =pasture or grassy place ...

at the current location. This was southeast of the old village, which was then renamed Oud-Empel. A new townhouse was also built on the new location of Empel. In 1971 the entire municipality of Empel en Meerwijk was absorbed by 's-Hertogenbosch municipality. Empel then grew to a city quarter of 6,505 inhabitants. As a city quarter Empel includes the

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural are ...

s: Maasakker, De Koornwaard, Empel-Oost and Empel-Zuid. Oud-Empel became part of Maaspoort.

Points of interest

Empel,_voormalig_gemeentehuis_Empel_en_Meerwijk

Empel was the ancient site of a temple dedicated to ''

Hercules Magusanus Hercules Magusanus is a Romano-Germanic deity or hero worshipped during the early first millennium AD in the Lower Rhine region among the Batavi, Marsaci, Ubii, Cugerni, Baetasii, and probably among the Tungri. Name Attestations The name ...

''. It is one of only a few religious monuments from

Germania Inferior Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agrippin ...

that can be interpreted with a fair degree of certainty. Hercules Magusanus was the Latin name of the supreme god of the

Batavians The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe that lived around the modern Dutch Rhine delta in the area that the Romans called Batavia, from the second half of the first century BC to the third century AD. The name is also applied to several milit ...

. Many votive gifts have been found near the temple. Amongst these, the many used weapons indicate that this temple was indeed dedicated to a non-Roman god. These archaeological traces are not visible for the public. The Castle Park is an outdoor activity park. It shows the outline of the motte, keep and outer-bailey of former

. The park has a playground for children, a basketball court, a panna cage, a skatepark and a

pétanque Pétanque (, ; oc, petanca, , also or ) is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports, along with raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, lawn bowls, and crown green bowling. In all of these sports, players or teams play their boules/balls ...

court. The park protects the archaeological remains of the castle, as well as those of a medieval brick oven. The latter is covered by the Empel Folly. The Saint Landelinus Church was inaugurated on 25 December 1949. It replaced the Neogothic Landelinus Church of Oud-Empel which had been destroyed in 1945. The current church is a brick Christocentric church designed by the Tilburg architect N.H. Pontzen (1913-1979). The

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

have been painted on the concrete pillars by Egbert Deckers. A cross was made by Albert Termote. Frans van der Burgt made a sculpture of

Anthony the Great Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...

. A

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

by Léon Wiegman depicts the Miracle of Empel. The recently dug

Máxima Canal The Máxima Canal dates from 2014 and runs from the Zuid-Willemsvaart near Den Dungen to the Meuse near Gewande. Context The Máxima Canal is also known as the reroute of the Zuid-Willemsvaart or . In the early nineteenth century the Zuid-Wil ...

(2014) is just east of Empel. It is sided by bicycle lanes that essentially go nowhere, and are therefore very popular with sport enthusiasts.

Battle of Empel

The

or Miracle of Empel (Milagro de Empel in Spanish) was a battle fought on December 7 and December 8, 1585, as part of the

, in which a Spanish army miraculously escaped destruction after discovering a hidden Dutch Catholic image of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

. The Spanish army was in a desperate situation, under siege by the Dutch Protestant navy and surrounded by the rivers. The story says that in the night following the discovery of the image, the rivers froze and the Spanish army ran over the frozen rivers escaping from the siege, destroying or capturing all the ships in the Dutch fleet stuck in the ice, and overrunning the Dutch army camp. In Spain, the battle is still remembered as it is believed that the Spanish army was saved due to intervention of Mary of the Immaculate Conception. In memory of the battle, the Immaculate Conception is the patroness of the Spanish infantry.

Flags

Empel does not have an official flag. Although there have been previous designs made by citizens, none of them have been classed as official flags. What Empel does have is an official Coat of Arms.

References

External links

Empel, The Sanctuary of Magusanus

Article
on the site of the Army Museum of The Netherlands (in Dutch) Boroughs of 's-Hertogenbosch Populated places in North Brabant {{NorthBrabant-geo-stub