Gnome King Kyrië (Dutch: Kabouterkoning Kyrië, ) is, according to local folklore, the leader of the legendary

gnome A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...

s (

kabouter Kabouter is the Dutch word for gnome or leprechaun. In folklore, the Dutch Kabouters are akin to the Irish Leprechaun, Scandinavian Tomte or Nisse, the English Hob, the Scottish Brownie and the German Klabauter or kobold. In the folklore of th ...

s) which lived in the

Campine The Campine ( French ) or De Kempen (Dutch ) is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It encom ...

region of 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 we ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. These gnomes had their base in the village of

Hoogeloon Hoogeloon is a Dutch village in the commune of Bladel, in North Brabant. Hoogeloon is situated 4 km north of and is around 20 km west of Eindhoven. History Close to the village of Hoogeloon there are many tumulus dating from the Bron ...

. From Hoogeloon the gnomes often made journeys in the neighboring lands. According to tradition the Gnome King Kyrië lived on the Kerkakkers in the Kabouterberg (Gnome Mountain) also known as Duivelsberg (Devil's Mountain), a

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

located in the Koebosch forest, slightly northeast of Hoogeloon. The gnomes of the Campine were helpful creatures who helped mostly the farmers and the households in the Campine and also in the neighboring lands of

the Peel ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

and the

Meierij The Meierij van 's-Hertogenbosch (; Dutch for "Bailiwick of 's-Hertogenbosch") was one of the four parts of the Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate o ...

. They came by night and did not want to be seen by people. If people did see them, they were punished by the gnomes. One story tells of an inquisitive farmer who spied on the gnomes and later became blind in one eye as a punishment.

The death of Kyrië

One day, Gnome King Kyrië was shot by a hunter in the heathlands of

Riethoven Riethoven is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Bergeijk, about southwest of Eindhoven. The adjacent township of Walik is in general considered to be a part of Riethoven. Riethoven was originall ...

(most sources name the winter of 1952/1953, some place his death in the winter of 1951/1952). He had just enough strength to reach the Duivelsberg (Devil's Mountain) where the gnomes lived. The hunter looked for what he had shot down, when he heard the shocked gnomes say: "Kyrië is dead". The sad message that their king had died spread quickly among all gnome settlements in the region. Gnome King Kyrië was buried somewhere in Hoogeloon. After the death of their king, all the gnomes left the area to an unknown destination. Nobody has ever since heard or seen these Campine gnomes.Nederlandse and Vlaamse Sprookjes 1998, by Sprookjes Uit De Wereldliteratuur

Statue

In Hoogeloon, a

village pump A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. T ...

with a statue of Gnome King Kyrië on it was erected on the Valensplein in 1985. It is designed by Gubbels. On 9 April 2001 the pump and statue were moved to another place on the same square after a reconstruction of the Valensplein. At the same time a special 'Koning Kyrië Kruidenbitter', a

bitter Bitter may refer to: Common uses * Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience * Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes Books * '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...

, was introduced.

References

External links

Dutch legendary creatures Mythological kings Gnomes {{Europe-myth-stub