Peer () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the province of

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

Flemish Region The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and t ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. On January 1, 2006, Peer had a total population of 15,810. The total area is 86.95 km² which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of 182 inhabitants per km². The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Peer, Grote-Brogel, Kleine-Brogel, Wauberg, Erpekom and

Wijchmaal Wijchmaal is a village in the province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Belgium, which since 1977 has been a subdivision of the municipality of Peer, Belgium, Peer. It is located on the low Campine, Kempen plateau and has predominantly sandy soil. T ...

. Peer is the site of a famous annual blues music festival held in July.

History

Peer is the birth place of the composer

Armand Preud'homme Armand Preud'homme (21 February 1904, in Peer, Belgium, Peer – 7 February 1986, in Brasschaat) was a Belgian componist and organist. Biography Preud'homme studied at the Limburg Organ and Singing School in Hasselt with Arthur Meulemans and at ...

. From 1990 to 2018 the

Armand Preud'homme Museum The Armand Preud'homme Museum was a museum in Peer, Belgium, that was dedicated to the Belgian composer Armand Preud'homme (1904-1986). From 1990 to 2018 the museum formed a combination with the Heemkundig Museum (local museum) upstairs, called th ...

remembered to his life and work. The village Grote Brogel, part of Peer, claims to be the birthplace of Pieter Bruegel. The

Bruegel Foundation Brueghel or Bruegel () was the name of several Dutch/Flemish painters from the Brueghel family: * Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525–1569), the most famous member of the family and the only one to sign his paintings as "Bruegel" without the ''H'' ...

was also founded in Peer to research the history of Peer and Pieter Bruegel. Kleine Brogel, a village that is a part of Peer, includes Kleine Brogel Air Base. Rumours that

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

nuclear weapons under the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

nuclear sharing Nuclear sharing is a concept in NATO's policy of nuclear deterrence, which allows member countries without nuclear weapons of their own to participate in the planning for the use of nuclear weapons by NATO. In particular, it provides for the ar ...

program were stationed at Kleine Brogel have never been officially confirmed, but are now known to be true. A

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

from the American Embassy in Brussels from November 2009, published by

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...

, not only confirms their existence, but also informs that the Belgian government rejected a proposal from Germany to propose to the rest of NATO that the nuclear weapons be removed from both countries (as well as those stationed in the Netherlands and Italy).

Climate

Peer has in the summer quite a nice temperature, around 20 degrees Celsius. In the winter it normally snows.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities of Limburg (Belgium)