Gymnasium Beekvliet is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

independent school with gymnasium status in

Sint-Michielsgestel Sint-Michielsgestel () is a village in the municipality of Sint-Michielsgestel, Netherlands. Geography The 120 km long river Dommel flows north from a well near Peer in Belgium. Just north of 's-Hertogenbosch it is joined by the Aa and ...

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 ...

. 784 students attended it in the school year of 2019–2020.

History

Today's "Gymnasium Beekvliet" originated from the episcopal seminary and boarding school Beekvliet. "Kleinseminarie Beekvliet" was founded in Sint-Michielsgestel in 1815. Among others, these persons attended Beekvliet: * Christian Hoecken -

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

in the USA (1808-1851) * Adrian Hoecken - missionary in the USA (1815-1897) *

Peter Donders Petrus Norbertus Donders (27 October 1809 – 14 January 1887) was a Dutch Roman Catholic priest and member of the Redemptorist Congregation. He served in various missions in the Dutch colony of Surinam. He started working in the capital Param ...

- missionary in Surinam (1809-1887) *

Francis Janssens Francis August Anthony Joseph Janssens (October 17, 1843 – June 9, 1897) was a Dutch-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Natchez in Mississippi (1881–1888) and as archbishop of the Archdiocese o ...

- archbishop of New Orleans (1843-1897) * Floris van der Putt -

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and composer (1915-1990) * Maurice Pirenne - priest and composer (1928-2008) During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

it was used as an internment camp, same as the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in Haaren. On May 4, 1942 460 Dutch men were imprisoned at ''Beekvliet''. Among the detainees, discussions started to take place about the renewal of social relationships in the Netherlands and the abolition of the "

pillarisation Pillarisation (from the nl, verzuiling) is the politico-denominational segregation of a society into groups by religion and associated political beliefs. These societies were (and in some areas, still are) vertically divided into two or more gr ...

". Among others

Simon Vestdijk Simon Vestdijk (; 17 October 1898 – 23 March 1971) was a Dutch writer. He was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature fifteen times. Life Born in the small Frisian town of Harlingen, Vestdijk studied medicine in Amsterdam, but turned t ...

and Anton van Duinkerken participated in these discussions. Interned political and well-known figures included Prof. Ir. Wim Schermerhorn (the Netherlands' first Prime Minister after World War II), Prof. Dr.

Willem Banning Willem Banning ( Makkum, 21 February 1888 – Driebergen, 7 January 1971) was a Dutch theologian, philosopher, sociologist and politician, who played an important role in Dutch 20th-century politics. Personal life Banning was born the son of Jan ...

, Prof. Dr. Pieter Geyl, Prof. Dr.

Niko Tinbergen Nikolaas "Niko" Tinbergen (; ; 15 April 1907 – 21 December 1988) was a Dutch biologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz for their discoveries concerning the or ...

, Prof. Dr.

Hendrik Brugmans Hendrik Brugmans (13 December 1906 in Amsterdam – 12 March 1997 in Bruges) also known as Hendrik Bupatis was the son of historian Hajo Brugmans and Maria Keizer. He studied history of French literature at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and the ...

, Dr. Hendrik Algra, Jhr.

Marinus van der Goes van Naters Marinus van der Goes van Naters (21 December 1900 – 12 February 2005) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) and later the Labour Party (PvdA) and lawyer. Background and early career He was born in Ni ...

, and Prof. Dr.

Jan de Quay Jan Eduard de Quay (26 August 1901 – 4 July 1985) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and psychologist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 19 Ma ...

. ''Beekvliet'' was an internment camp for politically active and influential Dutch civilians. Several detainees were executed by the Germans on August 15, 1942 and October 16, 1942, as reprisals for actions by the resistance in other parts of the country. After the seminary closed in 1972, the gymnasium was continued with students from throughout the region. The ''Duitse Bouw'' ("German Building") where the detainees were held during WW-II was used as a gymnasium until 1978. After that, the school moved to a new building directly across the Beekvlietstraat. Today "Gymnasium Beekvliet" is an independent gymnasium with just over 800 students. ''Beekvliet'' celebrated its 190th anniversary in 2005. The old ''Beekvliet'' buildings were mostly demolished and covered an area that is now surrounded by the following streets: Spijt - Beekgraaf - Krommeweg - Beekvlietstraat - Seminarielaan - Schijndelseweg. Only the tower and a part of the main building survived. The orchard, sports fields, botanical garden and the buildings were replaced by a new community.

Timeline

* 1815 Beekvliet founded * 1942 Used as internment camp by the German occupier; expanded with the ''Duitse Bouw'' * 1972 Seminary closed; the gymnasium continues in the ''Duitse Bouw'' * 1978 Move to the new building at the Beekvlietstraat 4 * 1992 Monument for those executed in 1942 is revealed * 1995 First expansion added to the building at the Beekvlietstraat 4 * 2002 Second expansion added to the building at the Beekvlietstraat 4

External links

Website Gymnasium Beekvliet
{{coord, 51.6421, 5.3646, type:edu_region:NL, display=title Netherlands in World War II Christian schools in the Netherlands Gymnasiums in the Netherlands Schools in North Brabant Sint-Michielsgestel